Grassfields region

Area including the Northwest and West regions of Cameroon, considered by many to be the birthplace of the Bantu languages.

Dates

to today

Places

Africa > Central Africa > Cameroon

Basics Works of Art Periods, Cultures, Styles

Grassfields region

Area including the Northwest and West regions of Cameroon, considered by many to be the birthplace of the Bantu languages.

Dates

to today

Places

Africa > Central Africa > Cameroon

Basics Works of Art Periods, Cultures, Styles

Basics to get you started

Masquerade basics

Pageantry in the Palace—Bamum Kingdom, Cameroon

Works of Art

Elephant Mask (Bamileke Peoples)

19th–21st century

Ceremonial Palm Wine Vessel (Cameroon Grasslands peoples)

19th–20th century

Figure of a Chief (Lefem) (Bangwa)

19th–early 20th century

Search and See All (3)

Periods, Cultures, Styles

Helmet Mask, c. 1900, wood, 57.2 cm (Cleveland Museum of Art)

Bamum

to today

Mask (mbap mteng), early 1900s (Bamileke peoples), cotton, burlap, glass beads, twine, leather, and wood, 139.7 x 50.8 x 19.1 cm (The Cleveland Museum of Art)

Bamileke

to today

Commemorative Figure (Lefem), 19th–early 20th century, Bangwa, wood, organic matter, fiber, Cameroon, Grassfields region, 102.2 x 30.2 x 26.4 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Bangwa

to today