Carved Pipe
Arts of the Americas
Panel pipes were most likely carved as status symbols rather than for smoking. There is no evidence that this pipe was ever used, even though its channels would make smoking possible. The meaning of the carved interlocking and twisting clan animals, including different birds and frogs, is unknown now that the oral history of the pipe has been lost. Perhaps the piece was a potlatch gift. If so, the act of accepting the gift would have constituted an acknowledgment of the original owner’s proprietary rights to the spiritual histories connected to the carved figures.
Las pipas panel fueron probablemente talladas más como símbolos de estatus que para fumar. No hay evidencia que indique que esta pipa fue usada alguna vez, aunque sus canales hacen posible utilizarla para fumar. El significado de los grabados de animales del clan, enroscados e interconectados, y que incluyen diferentes pájaros y ranas, es desconocido, ya que la historia oral de la pipa se ha perdido. Quizás esta pieza fue un regalo de potlach. En dicho caso, el acto de aceptar el regalo habría constituido un reconocimiento de los derechos del dueño original sobre las historias espirituales conectadas a las figuras talladas.
MEDIUM
Argillite, pigment traces
DATES
early 19th century
DIMENSIONS
11 7/16 x 4 1/8 x 3/4 in. (29.1 x 10.5 x 1.9 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
37.2982PA
CREDIT LINE
Frank Sherman Benson Fund and the Henry L. Batterman Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
A long, thin, argillite pipe with elaborately carved figures and rarely found tracings of pigments-yellow, blue, and red. The object is in fair condition. A 1938 conservation record indicates that the pipe stem was broken and repaired with iron rods and other materials. This will be reversed by Conservation.
Peter NcNair 3/29/2005 said that the earliest argillite pipes were stubby. He said that 'Panel pipes' began to appear in the late 1820s-1830s and were never intended to be smoked. Peter added that he has never seen any with residue indicating use, although it was physically possible to smoke them. Red vermillon used on the pipes came from China via Americans in the Sea Otter fur trade business. Red, blue, and yellow pigments were used to outline the carved forms. Peter comments: "Absolutely unique. I've seen them with red, but never with blue or yellow."
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Haida. Carved Pipe, early 19th century. Argillite, pigment traces, 11 7/16 x 4 1/8 x 3/4 in. (29.1 x 10.5 x 1.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Frank Sherman Benson Fund and the Henry L. Batterman Fund, 37.2982PA. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.2982PA_side1_PS1.jpg)
IMAGE
profile, side 1, 37.2982PA_side1_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2006
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a
Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply.
Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online
application form (charges apply).
For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the
United States Library of Congress,
Cornell University,
Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and
Copyright Watch.
For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our
blog posts on copyright.
If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact
copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and
we welcome any additional information you might have.
