Horn (title cup)
Artist Unidentified
20th century, 1950–2000
Object PlaceCameroon
Medium/TechniqueBuffalo horn
DimensionsHeight x width: 17 x 33 x 9 cm (6 11/16 x 13 x 3 9/16 in.)
Credit LineGift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession number2009.2776
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDecorative arts
Collections
This buffalo horn with smooth patina and finely engraved motifs is a title cup-one of three essential pieces of regalia that each lineage head receives at his investiture, when he takes his "title;" the other two are his stool and cap. Title cups have multiple functions, and serve as ritual containers when the owner pours libations and drinks palm wine from them. The fully articulated lizard alludes to vitality, the stylized frog motif to fertility and prosperity.
Provenance1981, sold by Esatuk Gallery, Paris to 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)
20th century
