This matching pair of seated figures comes from the Grasslands region of Cameroon. In this area there are various tribes that share social and cultural characteristics and which are integrated into a widespread network of small, quasi-independent kingdoms. The main ethnic groups are the Bamileke, the Bamenda-Tikar and the Bamum. The nature of rule and hierarchy in these groups varies somewhat, but in general terms the king/fon/leader of the group and his courtly associates are equipped with regalia and prestige objects for the general purpose of conspicuous consumption. Societies and even private individuals were permitted to hold various sorts of regalia according to their status, leading to a proliferation of craftsmen and artists who occupied valuable social roles within the community. Most of the figures commemorate deceased royals whose memory is sacred to the continuity of the royal succession. The current pieces, judging from their size, were intended for personal or small-scale shrines, as the figures intended for the royal palaces were usually almost life-size.
The sculptures depict a royal couple seated in impressively detailed thrones, indicating their high social status. The king is depicted with a long tunic over short trousers, and is wearing a plain skullcap. His spouse is naked to the waist with a belted calf-length skirt, and her head is bared. They both wear black sandals. They are approximately the same height, although his throne is more massively built than hers. They are posturally identical, apart from the fact that his hands are fists whereas hers are laid flat on the arms of her throne. Her hair is made up of numerous small eminences, and the tips thereof are painted with black paint. Their faces are very similar, with rimmed eyes, a wide nose and small, undefined mouth; he has a single vertical scar on each cheek, whereas her scars are horizontal and parallel with her eyes. Interestingly, their ears are differently rendered, with hers in a molluscan swirl, and his in a ninety-degree curvilinear arrangement. Based on this and other minor stylistic markers, it is possible that they were carved by different people in the same workshop, and subsequently united. Both of their skins are painted with kaolin or a similarly pale paint. Their physiques vary somewhat in that his shape is rather flattened, while she is decidedly corpulent – perhaps pregnant – and generally more rounded than her husband. Judging from their physiques – especially that of the queen – they are probably meant to be a young couple; it is possible that they are being remembered in their youth after their demise. These are well-carved and charismatic figures.