Decorative pipes, found all over Africa, are usually the property of kings, chiefs, and other notable persons, both male and female. Since the 16th century, when the tobacco plant was first imported from the Americas, the act of smoking has been usually a private practice without ceremony. But the public display of figurative pipes as prestigious art objects is common on state occasions and has fully entered the ritual tradition. Here, the hand, symbol of power, suggests a ritual association.