Skip Navigation

Collection Menu
Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. <em>Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit</em>, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.801a-d_PS11.jpg)
Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.801a-d_PS11.jpg)
Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. <em>Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit</em>, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.801a-d_PS11.jpg)

Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.801a-d_PS11.jpg)

Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. <em>Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit</em>, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.26.801_view1.jpg)

Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.26.801_view1.jpg)

Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. <em>Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit</em>, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.801a_PS11.jpg)

Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.801a_PS11.jpg)

Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. <em>Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit</em>, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.26.801_view2.jpg)

Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.26.801_view2.jpg)

Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. <em>Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit</em>, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.801b_PS11.jpg)

Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.801b_PS11.jpg)

Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. <em>Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit</em>, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.26.801_view3.jpg)

Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.26.801_view3.jpg)

Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. <em>Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit</em>, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.801c_PS11.jpg)

Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.801c_PS11.jpg)

Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. <em>Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit</em>, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.26.801_view4.jpg)

Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.26.801_view4.jpg)

Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. <em>Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit</em>, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.801d_PS11.jpg)

Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.801d_PS11.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit

Arts of the Americas

Tobacco, indigenous to the Americas, has been smoked, chewed, and pulverized for inhaling by Native people for thousands of years. The act of smoking is believed to connect the physical and spiritual worlds as the smoke spirals its way from earth to sky carrying prayers and blessings. The ancient panther effigy pipe displayed nearby may depict the Underwater Panther, a mystical beast with great power that was thought to live in the underworld realm.

Historically, pipes such as the one seen here were used for personal, communal, ceremonial, and political purposes. This example is said to have belonged to the Lakota leader Red Cloud, and may have been used during alliance-building ceremonies. Today, pipes are considered sacred when they are activated by joining the stem and bowl.

In the seventeenth century, British colonists understood the export value of tobacco, establishing vast plantations that resulted in the expulsion of Native people from their ancestral homelands and the introduction of slave labor from Africa.
CULTURE Oglala, Lakota, Sioux
MEDIUM Wood, catlinite, lead inlay
  • Place Made: United States
    • DATES 1850–1890
    DIMENSIONS approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm) a) wooden mouthpiece: 1 1/8 x 1 1/4 x 9 1/4 in. (2.9 x 3.2 x 23.5 cm) b) stone stem piece with inlay: 7/8 x 1 1/2 x 15 3/4 in. (2.2 x 3.8 x 40 cm) c) wooden stem piece: 1 1/8 x 1 1/2 x 9 in. (2.9 x 3.8 x 22.9 cm) d) stone bowl: 5 1/2 x 1 7/8 x 7 7/8 in. (14 x 4.8 x 20 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas
    ACCESSION NUMBER 26.801a-d
    CREDIT LINE Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Catlinite L-shaped pipe with catlinite stem with two inserts from carved wood on either end. The wood is carved in relief with the figures of an antelope on one piece and an elk head on the other. There is metal inlay along the catlinite stem. Among the material purchased as belonging to Red Cloud. Condition: good.
    EXHIBITIONS
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.801a-d_PS11.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 26.801a-d_PS11.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2020
    "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.
    Oglala, Lakota, Sioux. <em>Pipe in Four Pieces, Part of War Outfit</em>, 1850–1890. Wood, catlinite, lead inlay, approximate overall: 33 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (83.8 x 14 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.801a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.801a-d_PS11.jpg)

    TAGS

    GreatPlains

    TAGS

    GreatPlains

    RELATED OBJECTS

    Head of an Old Man Silver King Elephant, or The Call Puma Indian Warrior Setter The Antiquary Shop Picnic in the Catskills Bust of a Child Modern Madonna Hammerstone Olla or Jar Burial Urn with Male Effigy Figure Tray or Waiter Scrimshaw, Whales Tooth Scrimshaw, Whales Tooth Crucifix Tray Cane Medallion Childs Pair of Beaded Moccasins Hide Scraper Hide Scraper Womans Fringed Raw Hide Bag with Strap for Carrying Headdress or Feathered Bonnet Pouch War Club, Part of War Outfit Beaded Knife Sheath, Part of War Outfit Beaded Belt, Part of War Outfit Spear Case Holder for Pointed Instrument, Part of War Outfit Two Tassels, Part of War Outfit Tomahawk Womans Belt Case Doll Decorated Shirt Medicine Spear Tipi Liner Knife Sheath, Part of War Outfit Hair Extensions