In African art, pieces from the Bamileke country stand out by their regular use of beads, not only to decorate their masks but also to ornament their figurines. Of the same quality as Bangwa figurines, this is a royal statuette which we can attribute to one of the nine kingdoms of the Bangwa, located in the west of the Bamilike country. For the Bangwa, these are commemorative figurines. Very often, these remind to the living, the honours they owe to the dead. Rare and important, this Bangwa sculpture represents a monarch. The facial expression is characteristic of the local art. Both parts of the face are slightly asymmetrical. The mouth is widely open. The nose curve confers more expressiveness to the large almond-shaped eyes and the forehead is protruding. If it is true that the set of jewels can distinguish the genders, it sometimes happens that the object is carried by both sexes, as a sign of honours and symbol of the Lefem: groups of rich and powerful notables of the Bangwa chieftaincy. Private collection.