Drum
Artist
Cameroon grassfields peoples
(Cameroonian)
CultureAfrican | Cameroon
DateEarly- to mid-20th century
MediumWood | Hide
DimensionsOverall: 41 in. (104.1 cm)
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.2400
Collections
Not on view
Label TextDrum
Early- to mid-20th century
Cameroon grassfields
Cameroon
Wood and hide
Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.2400
Numerous independent kingdoms comprise the Cameroon grassfields, and language and customs vary from one village to the next. However, the architecture and symbols depicted on this royal drum appear commonly throughout the region. All of the scenes that appear on the drum in some way convey the king's power and wealth.
The king's compound, a collection of buildings with steeply pitched roofs, appears prominently in the lower register of images. The band of animals encircling the bottom represents crocodiles and the presence of water near the king's home. Such sites have clear benefits for agriculture and would have been preferred for the elite. The pattern encircling the top of the drum represents spiders. Used for divination, spiders are also symbols of wisdom.
