Item Information Sheet
Item Name: West African Double-Bowl Prestige Pipe
Ethnic Group: West African Savanna Tradition
Country of Origin: West Africa
About This Piece:
A rare and technically accomplished double-bowl prestige pipe from the West African savanna tradition. The twin bowls sit side by side on a shared base, each densely carved with diamond and lozenge geometric relief patterns — a decorative vocabulary found across West African chiefly and elder art traditions. A rope-relief band runs horizontally across both bowls, and carved human feet emerge from the base, elevating this piece into the category of figural pipe — an object that is simultaneously functional, sculptural, and ceremonial. The entire form is ebonized through smoke, oil, and age to a deep lustrous black. The long wooden stem is wrapped in leather with a braided leather thong — a construction consistent with West African savanna pipe-making traditions. Double-bowl pipes of this quality were prestige objects carried by chiefs, elders, and men of standing, smoked during council, ceremony, and ancestral consultation. The doubling of the bowl itself may carry symbolic meaning — duality, balance, and the joining of worlds.
Dimensions & Weight:
Height: 52 cm / 20.5 in
Width: 7.5 cm / 3.0 in
Depth: 7 cm / 2.8 in
Weight: 0.15 kg / 0.33 lbs
(Tip: 1 inch = 2.54 cm; 1 lb = 0.453592 kg)
Provenance:
Collected From: Art dealer, Accra, Ghana
Notes:
Offered in as-found condition. Surface wear, patination, and aging are inherent to authentic artifacts and reflect the object's history, not defects.