Africa has been rich in arts supporting leadership and governance from precolonial times to the present. Whether in the context of military states, royal confederacies, sacred chieftaincies, or councils of elders, the arts have served to uphold and strengthen those in power and their domains. In turn, rulers have often been patrons of the arts with the volume of artistic production dependent on their ability to marshal ample resources.
This section explores particular examples of African leadership to demonstrate that political power can be defined only in specific cultural contexts. It may, for example, reside in a king’s quick wit and oratorical wisdom, or it may arise from a ruler’s link to the spirit world. Sometimes power results from a delicate balance between a ruler and other branches of government. In such a case the arts can serve to ensure social control and justice.
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Object Name: Elephant head crest
Artist: Unknown
Culture: Oku or Babanki peoples
Place of Origin: Northwestern Grassfields, Cameroon
Date/Era: 19th century
Medium/Materials: Wood, copper, alloy, iron alloy
Dimensions: L: 118.0 cm, W: 46.0 cm, H: 25.5 cm (L: 46.4 in, W: 18.1 in, H: 10.0 in)
Credit Line and accession number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Mary-Louise Fantel in memory of Ernest Fantel.
Accession Number: X2006.4.1
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Pipe bowl
Bamum peoples, Cameroon
19th-20th century
Terra-cotta
X63.405; Gift of Mary Hastings Bradley.
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Beaded headdress for elephant mask
Bamileke peoples, Cameroon
Before 1880
Fiber, textile, beads, wood
H: 47.00 cm (18.5 in), W: 43.50 cm (17.1 in), D: 46.00 cm (18.1 in)
Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Mr. William Lloyd Davis. X64.86
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Chiefäs stool
Western Grassfields, Cameroon
Late 19th-early 20th century
Wood, plant fiber
X65.1617; Gift of the Wellcome Trust.
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Object Name: Ceremonial chair
Artist: Unknown
Place of Origin: Central Western Grassfields, Cameroon
Date/Era: Early 20th century
Dimensions: H: 81.5 cm
Medium/Materials: Wood
Credit Line: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of the Wellcome Trust.
Accession Number: X65.1621
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Object Name: Bottle
Artist: Unknown
Cultural Group: Bamileke peoples
Place of Origin: Cameroon
Date: 19th century
Dimensions: Total Height: 62.50 cm, H: 53.50 cm, DIAM: 21.00 cm
Materials Used: Gourd, glass beads, textile, felt, thread
Credit Line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of the Wellcome Trust. X65.5813ab
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Object Name: Palm-wine container
Artist: Unknown
Place of Origin: Grassfields, Cameroon
Date/Era: 19th century
Dimensions: H: 51 cm
Medium/Materials: Gourd, glass beads, textile, felt, thread, wood, cowrie shells
Credit Line: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of the Wellcome Trust.
Accession Number: X65.5815A
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Object Name: Mask (tsesah)
Artist: Unknown
Culture: Bamileke peoples
Place of Origin: Bamendjo, Cameroon
Date/Era: Late 19th century
Medium/Materials: Wood, paint, iron dowel, plant fiber, plant gum
Dimensions: H: 53.34 cm, W: 47.00 cm, D: 30.50 cm (H: 21 in, W: 18.5 in, D: 12 in)
Credit Line: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of the Wellcome Trust.
Accession Number: X65.5820
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Collar
Bamum peoples
Cameroon
Late 19th-early 20th century
Brass and copper
Diam: 26.0 cm, D: 1.8 cm (Diam: 10.2, D: .71 in)
Gift of the Wellcome Trust. X65.8228
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Fly whisk
Bamum peoples
Cameroon
19th century
Raffia cloth, glass beads, horsehair, iron, nails, raffia thread
H: 121.0 cm, W: 10.0 cm, D: 12.0 cm (H: 47.6 in, W: 3.9 in, D: 4.7 in)
Gift of George G. Frelinghuysen. X67.2052
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Object Name: Elephant mask and costume
Artist: Unknown
Culture Group: Bamileke peoples
Place of Origin: Cameroon
Date: 19th century
Materials: Burlap, fiber, fabric, seed beads, human hair
Dimensions: H: 118.0 cm, W: 111.5 cm (H: 46.4 in, W: 43.8 in)
Credit line and Accession Number: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Barry Kitnick. X73.529
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Crest mask
Oku peoples
Western Grassfields, Cameroon
19th-20th century
Wood
L: 44.5 cm, W: 27.9 cm (L: 17.5 in, W: 10.9 in)
Gift of Mr. W. Thomas Davis. X73.603
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Crest mask
Buffalo
Cameroon
Oku peoples
19th-20th century
L: 31.70 cm, H: 27.00 cm (L: 12.4 in, H: 10.6 in)
Fowler Museum at UCLA. Anonymous Gift. X77.935
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Object Name: Mask of a lineage group
Artist: Unknown
Culture: Oku or Babanki peoples
Place of Origin: Western Grassfields, Cameroon
Date/Era: 19th-20th century
Medium/Materials: Wood
Dimensions: L: 27.5 cm, H: 43.5 cm (L: 10.8 in, H: 17.1 in)
Credit Line: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Anonymous Gift.
Accession Number: X78.126
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Crest mask, bird
Kom or Oku peoples
Western Grassfields, Cameroon
19th-20th century
Wood, kaolin, wire, vegetable fiber
H: 19.3 cm, W: 23.0 cm, D: 56.0 cm (H: 7.6 in, W: 9.1 in, D: 22.0 in)
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Melvin Silverman. X80.809
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Elephant mask
Bamileke peoples
Cameroon
20th century
Beads, cotton, wood
H: 150.0 cm, W: 71.5 cm, D: 6.0 cm (H: 59.1 in, W: 28.1 in, D: 2.4 in)
Anonymous gift. X82.569
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Leader mask
Cameroon
Kom peoples (?)
Wood, pigment, bast, cord, hair, encrustation
19th century
L: 22.3 cm, H: 37.5 cm, D: 16.5 cm (L: 8.7 in, H: 14.7 in, D: 6.4 in)
Fowler Museum at UCLA. Anonymous Gift. X83.968
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Mask of a lineage group
Cameroon
Wood and mixed media
19th century
L: 22.9 cm, H: 32.0 cm, D: 28.0 cm (L: 9.0 in, H: 12.5 in, D: 11.0 in)
Fowler Museum at UCLA. Anonymous Gift. X86.3696
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Drinking horn
Bamum peoples
Cameroon
19th century
Horn and pigment
H: 29.5 cm, W: 13.5 cm, D: 9.5 cm (H: 11.6 in, W: 5.3 in, D: 3.7 in)
Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Peter J. Kuhn. X91.410
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Object Name: Male and female figures
Artist: Unknown
Culture: Bamileke peoples
Place of Origin: Bangwa, Cameroon
Date/Era: Late 19th to early 20th century
Dimensions: H (male): 97 cm; H (female): 87 cm
Medium/Materials: Male: wood; female: wood, hair
Credit Line: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Helen and Dr. Robert Kuhn.
Accession Number: X92.29ab