African Arts Gallery

Bamoun statue (N° 13630)

This rider Bamoun mastering a pitched horse would represent King N'Doya in his victory over the Fulani in the 19th century. Armed with a sword carried in a sheath slung over his shoulder, he also has a sword. A dark brown leather dresses the shapes of the character and his mount, a lighter leather sheaths the hooves. The king is dressed in a canvas loincloth, the Hausa having introduced the clothing transformations in the Bamoun, he wears leather stirrups connected by a rigid wicker rod. The various decorative elements and materials form an exceptional work here. The Bamuns live in an area that is both full of wooded reliefs but also savannahs. This large territory called Grassland in southwestern Cameroon is also home to other close ethnic groups such as the Bamiléké and Tikar. The art bamoun has been illustrated by sculptures in bas-reliefs, depicting fights, parties and hunts referring to the past, which adorn the doors and walls of buildings and palaces. Appearing in the 1920s, wall art bamoun developed during the reign of Sultan Seidou, mainly in the city of Foumban. As far as wood carving is concerned, rituals preceded the felling of the selected trees. (source: Claude Tardits)