Vessel
20th century, 1950–2000
Object PlaceCameroon
Medium/TechniqueWood
DimensionsOverall: 19 x 38 cm (7 1/2 x 14 15/16 in.)
Credit LineGift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession number2009.2687
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDecorative arts
Collections
This bowl once held food during celebrations and other important events, such as annual festivals. The relief of stylized frogs or toads alludes to fecundity, for peoples in the Cameroon Grassfields associate both amphibians with suppleness and procreation.
ProvenanceAcquired in Douala, Cameroon, by Geneviève McMillan (b. 1922 - d. 2008), Cambridge, MA; 2008, to the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation, Cambridge; 2009, gift of the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 17, 2009)
