Mum
Pipe
Mum, Early 20th century
Scroll
Mum
Pipe
Mum, Early 20th century
Physical Qualities
Brass, wood, 9 7/16 in. (24 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Nance Asher, Denton, Maryland
Object Number
1988.49a-c
Elaborate tobacco pipes are both utilitarian and prestige items used by male and female members of the royal court and displayed at state occasions (photo: Queen Mother Njapndunke of the Mum, 1905). This pipe depicts two figures on the shaft: a woman playing a gourd rattle and a lute, and a man playing a long serrated rasp. On the bow are fruits, serpent spirals (symbol of the ancestors, origin of settlement, and the military power of the king), and rows of cowrie shells (once used as money, now symbolizing wealth).
Nichole Bridges, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Hand Held: Personal Arts from Africa," Sept. 25, 2011-Feb. 5, 2012.
