Cameroon - Art and Kings

Edited by Lorenz Homberger
With contributions by Christraud M. Geary and Hans-Joachim Koloss

• $60.00s paperback (9783907077368) Add to Cart
• hardcover not available

• Published: 2008
• Subject Listing: African Art
• Bibliographic information: 256 pp., 300 illus., 193 in color, maps, bibliog., 9 x 11.75
• Territorial rights: Rights in U.S. and Canada only
• Distributed for: Paul Holberton publishing
• Series: Rietberg Museum, Zurich
• Contents

The ancient kingdoms of the Cameroon Grassfields are famous for their splendid artworks - ornamented thrones, wooden figures, enormous drums, finely carved jewelry made from ivory and brass, and fabulous masks. This book presents 150 masterpieces from the courts of the Grassfield kingdoms. Historical photographs illustrate the magnificent life at the courts encountered by European visitors in the late 19th century. Additional field photographs taken in recent years show that the traditions in the Grassfields are still alive today.

Two leading scholars in the field of Cameroonian art give an important introduction to the fascinating and complex world of the Grassfield kingdoms: their rituals, secret societies, and, above all, the meaning of art in this context.

Christraud M. Geary explores the dynamic of palace art in the kingdom of Bamum. Hans-Joachim Koloss gives a detailed overview of court art in the North West Province.