Afro-Dit
Artistic Ethnographic Tourist Art: Cameroon Metal Figures
by Steve Price
Collectors of African tribal art tend to reject "tourist art" (objects made for sale to the tourist, or to the west for decorative use). The attitude is that such items lack the authenticity and, consequently, the ethnographic interest, of objects made for use within the tribal community. They are usually right, of course. Such items generally reflect a Eurocentric view of Africa and its peoples, and are almost never accurate reproductions of items produced within tribal settings for internal purposes (often ritual).
There is a small subset of items made for sale to tourists and to western buyers that are artistically interesting and ethnographically informative. It was my great good fortune to stumble upon a small collection of one genre of such things at the auction of a missionary's estate in Richmond, Virginia, about 10 years ago. Nobody else at the sale had any interest in this lot, and I acquired all of it for about $10. The items are all cast metal - brass, except for one piece that is bronze, mae in Cameroon around 1930. According to Paul Gebauer (Art of Cameroon, 1979), production of such items was encouraged by the Cameroon government as a cottage industry, and they were highly regarded and valued within the country. In fact, a rather elaborate set was presented to the British royal family on the occasion of a visit to Cameroon.
These items have the goodnatured charm that is typical of much Cameroon art, and (according to Gebauer) accurately depict life in the tribal villages. The latter should render them of considerable interest to collectors of tribal arts.
I would like to share this little collection with you.
First, here are two images of a group of small brass figures representing what appears to be a village dignitary and his attendants.
His importance is clear. He sits on high, round-bottomed stool, shaded by a parasol carried by an attendant. He holds an animal horn cup in one hand, and one of his attendants holds a vessel from which the cup is refilled as necessary. Another attendant - the only woman in the group - holds a bowl or basket of some kind of food for him, and the fourth attendant bows before him with hands folded in a respectful pose.
The next figure is obviously the victor of a battle.
Like the dignitary in the first set of images, he rests on a high stool. And, also like the dignitary in the first set of images, he has an animal horn drinking vessel (it is at the base of his stool). We might reasonably conclude from these figures that a high stool and an animal horn drinking vessel were appurtenances of people of high standing in the community.
Here's another piece from the group. It's a woman perched on a small point, balanced on a tray held aloft by a very large man. This sort of thing was popular in curio shops, especially during the first half of the 20th century.
I like the iconography very much, and it probably reflects the gender relations with Cameroon culture pretty accurately. Let me explain. First, although the man is much larger than the woman, it is obvious that his sole purpose is to provide her with support. Why, we might wonder? I believe the answers are within the piece. Notice that she retains her balance by holding a balancing stick with weights on both ends. The weights are frogs. Interestingly, the frog is a symbol of fertility in Cameroon culture. In fact, it is a symbol of fertility in many other cultures as well, probably because of the sudden appearance of large numbers of frogs following heavy rains. So her stature - superior to the larger, stronger man - is maintained by fertility. She bears the children, an extremely important function in most societies (even in American and western European societies, children were essential to support the parents in old age until very recently). This justified the dedicated efforts of the man to support her.
Here is my favorite piece in the group. These two images show a person of stature, with his musical instruments (Cameroon culture places great value on artistic and musical ability among the nobility) and ceremonial sword.
He kneels on one knee, has a great flowing garment with elaborate braided cords to hold it in place, and shows the wonderful exuberance that I associate with the best art of the Cameroon grassfields. What appears to be a harp rests beneath his right elbow, so we know that he can play more than one instrument.
I hope you enjoy seeing these pieces, and I invite your comments about them. And, if you own or know of other pieces of especially interesting "tourist art", please feel free to introduce them to the discussion.
Steve Price