tobacco-pipe;
smoking-pipe
- Museum number
- Am1954,05.1019
- Description
-
Tobacco pipe made of shale, argillte. Broken arm on one figure.
- Dimensions
-
Length: 28 centimetres
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Width: 9 centimetres
- Curator's comments
-
Bibliography for Haida Argillite Carvings all from the Centre for Anthropology library, British Museum
Indian Art in pipestone; George Catlin’s portfolio in the British Museum
George Catlin 1796-1872
KUB [Cat-] M13875,
19thc Haida argillite pipe carvers; stylistic attributions
Robin Kathleen Wright
KUB [WRI-] V.1, M13198
KUB [WRI-] V.2, M45832
Northern Haida master carvers
Robin Kathleen Wright
KUB [WRI-], M40051
Haida Carvers in argillite
Charles Marius Barbeau
H6/KUB[CAN-], L21172
Guide to the Loan Collections of objects connected with the use of tobacco and other narcotics
William Bragge [1880]
pKGU [EDI-] , M24759
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Massett / Skidegate Haida delegation September 2009: delegation member Billy Yovanovich describes the tale behind this pipe: Raven was hungry, and so broke off his beak to impersonate a woman (the figure with a labret). Sitting beside an empty cradle, raven imitates a baby's cry and begs for food from the returning hair seal hunter (the central figure), who gives raven his seals. Raven eats the seals and then transforms back into his bird state (the raven figure patting his full stomach at the pipe's end). The tale finishes with the hunter looking into the cradle and discovering that it is empty. (See Skidegate Haida myths and stories by John Reed Swanton, 1873-1958)
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One of the most common forms of argillite pipe is that copied from clay trade pipes. These were exported from Europe and eastern North America in large quantities during the nineteenth century, and would have been an obvious foreign article for the Haida to copy. Three types of this form exist. The first is a simple copy of a clay pipe; these may or may not be decorated with floral designs and may have a spur at the base of the bowl. Secondly, the pipe bowl may be decorated with the typical Haida interpretation of a European head. Lastly, as in this case, the European and American motifs may be replaced with traditional Haida designs. (This entry is based on text written for the 1980 ‘Art made for Strangers’ exhibition, and reflects scholarship at that time).
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibited:
1998 1 Mar-24 May, BM Room 35, BP Ethnography Showcase: The Return of the Museum of Mankind
1996 Feb-1998 Feb, Museum of Mankind, Treasures of the Collections
1980 Feb-1983 Aug, Museum of Mankind, Room 9; Art Made for Strangers: Haida Argillite Carving
- Acquisition date
- 1954
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Am1954,05.1019
