About the lot N° 122
Title : Royal Commemorative Group Of Kamwa Mars De Baham
Size : Hauteur: 211 cm. (83 in.)Provenance : Roi Kamwa Mars de Baham (1928-1954)
Collecté par Philippe Guimiot à Foumban vers 1960
Sotheby's, New York, 15 mai 2003, lot 53
Importante collection privée canadienne, acquis lors de cette venteLiterature : Photographié in-situ par Pierre Harter en 1957
Harter, P., Arts Anciens du Cameroun, Arnouville, 1986, fig.319
Notoué, J.-P., Batcham, Sculptures du Cameroun, Marseille, 1993,
p.148-149
Bocola, S., Afrikanische Sitze/African seats, Munich et New York, 1994,
p.100-101Notes : A series of black and white field photos from the year 1957 shows this
commemorative ensemble of figures in situ in the inner court of a
palace. Some of the photographs also show people with the ceremonial
throne, such as the young chief Tingue, heir apparent and heir to the
symbolic crown, sometimes in the company of European visitors. One of
the people seen in the group is the anthropologist Ren Gouellain, who
did research on theatre in Cameroon and Africa in general. Medical
doctor Pierre Harter is possibly in the group too.
After this meeting, the symbolic throne of a king was most likely
brought back to the treasury of Baham in the Cameroonian Highlands (in
what is now the West Region). According to Philippe Guimiot, an African
dealer, Ibrahim of Bamum (also in the West Region), later acquired this
object. The Bamum and the Bamileke (and the Baham belong to the
Cameroonian Bamileke group), had intermittent conflicts between them,
but they had already been trade partners in pre-colonial times. Complex
ceremonies that only locals understood had to be observed when prestige
objects such as this throne were exchanged with outsiders. It was not
until 1965 that a European art dealer was able to obtain this work from
a Bamum dealer.
The history of the origins of this expressive artwork is relatively
documented: Its sponsor was Fon Kamwa Mars of Baham, after 1928. It is
actually the work of two people, a woodcarver and a bead embroiderer.
Their names are both known, which is unusual. The bead embroiderer even
left his signature (Harter 1986, p.287) on a bowl which one of the
queens is seen holding. This gesture of leaving a signature adumbrates a
new kind of modern artistic self-awareness. It represents a conscious
move away from what is sometimes referred to as a passé sauvage in
which artists works normally were identified with those who commissioned
them.
In the year 1937 chief (Fon) Kamwa Mars (or Max) was portrayed on a
photograph by Frank Christol. Kamwa Mars' regency (1928-1954) stretched
over difficult and turbulent times of political upheaval. He had
converted to Christianity.
The monument of wood and beads was commissioned by Kamwa Mars, the 11th
Fon of Baham, according to an old Bamileke custom, which required that a
new ruler order a portrait statue from a sculptor. The name of the
carver was Kwam. He was Kamwa Mars' official artist and created works,
most of which have been lost track of, for the chief and his secret
societies. An exception is the right side of an intricate wooden door
frame that marked the entrance to a secret society's house. This was
supposedly Kwam's last work.
Unlike the part of the door frame that was made by a colleague and
carved in relief, Kwam cut out the figures of his wing in an openwork
technique (cf. Raimond Lecoq 1953, fig.33). Openwork technique was the
hallmark of a Bati workshop, also in the Bamileke area. Artists from
Bati at the beginning of the 20th century worked mainly for Bali-Nyonga
dignitaries (cf. Harter, 1986, p.285). According to the oral tradition,
the founder of Baham was originally of Bali-Chamba descent. He married a
princess from Bandjoun, which still today remains close to Baham. The
marriage was propitious to the establishment of cultural and kin
relationships over a wide area. The carver's technique shows signs of
these relationships. His unusual talent enabled him to transpose
cultural elements successfully.
Kwams opus magnum is the ensemble of figures that Christie's is now
offering. Its dimensions are large: 220 x 100 x 100 centimeters. The
impressive forms were made from one single block of wood. There are now
a few repaired sections, held together with metal hooks. Using a
technique similar to that used for the manufacture of large slit drums,
a heavy log was hollowed out from the inside. The artwork was cut from
the hollowed profile. Two circles linked by a frieze composed of two
human figures, a chameleon and two leopards, represent the seat.
Representations of the new king and of two women, turned outwards, and
sitting with loose hanging legs, appear on top of the upper ring. The
figures are those of the sponsor, his wife and perhaps a Mafwo, the
king's mother.
Thrones associated with important figures are known from both Bamum (cf.
Afrikanische Sitze 1994, Kat. 77, 175 cm high) and Bekom (cf.
Afrikanische Sitze 1994, Kat. 78, 190 cm high). No ruler could actually
sit on this ceremonial throne from Baham. It was preserved in the royal
treasury and shown only at ceremonial and representational events.
Sometimes combined with other royal insignia, it represented the ruler's
position in the society and could function as a replacement for statues
of ancestors as well.
In the arts in the Southern Grasslands, which include dance, music and
ritual acting, wood carving has a special place. Remarkable artworks are
to be found among the scores of masks, statues and thrones from the
region. A feature of Bamileke sculpture compared with other African
style areas is the expression of movement into which artists set their
figures. Kwam's royal commemorative group is a fine example of this.
The upper part of the body of one woman holding a calabash is captured
in a pause of a vivid circular movement. The overlong and very slender
arms of the statues also convey a palpable feeling of motion.
The addition of decorative elements such as multicolored bead embroidery
is common in the Southern Grasslands. The well-known bead embroiderer
Kandep decorated the front of this sculpture with tightly packed strands
of beads that he stitched onto natural-colored material. The material is
visible at the inside of the annularly arranged ensemble. The figural
representations on the lower frieze are adorned with kauris and small
glass beads. The large male figure, representing Kamwa Mars himself,
wears a valuable necklace of Tosi beads on the muscular upper part of
its upper body and bulging abdomen. A colorful waistcloth hangs down
over the frieze. The chief's upper body is embroidered with tubular red
beads. They are reminiscent of red corals, which were formerly a
currency in West Africa. One of the represented women also wears a
prominent necklace. The other holds a calabash.
The statues have faces in orange and yellow. The bead worker's choice of
colors appears expressionistic. The highly stylized figures are covered
with geometric patterns, such as triangles, rhombs and small circles.
Isosceles triangles in beaded embroidery were regarded as leopard spots
(cf. Sign of the Leopard 1975). Kings or chiefs and leopards were
considered to be in a special relation with one another in the
Grasslands. Since beads in this area were a historic currency, the
multilayered symbolism of such an artwork legitimized both the status
and the fortune of its sponsor.
Examples of works related to this remarkable bead embroidered ensemble
include two 19th century thrones from the neighboring kingdom of
Bandjoun (cf. Batcham 1993, p.69 & p.74) as well as a sitting bowl
bearing figure also from Baham (cf. Constellations 2011, page 24,
fig.8).Christie's, auctioneer, Paris, FR
It's free to register now to view!
Sale title : Art Africain et Océanien
Sale date : 19 Jun 2013
It's free to register now to view!
Sale Reference : Live Sale
