Panther Effigy Pipe
1 of 6
Object Label
Animal imagery is prevalent in Indigenous communities throughout eastern North America. This pipe is fully carved in the form of a panther, including the underside of the legs and paws, demonstrating the carver’s expertise. The crouching feline may represent the Underwater Panther, a mythical beast with great power that was thought to live in the underworld. The significance of such a pipe may have been to link the smoker to the supernatural realm.
Caption
Eastern Woodlands. Panther Effigy Pipe, 100 BCE – 500 C.E.. Black Steatite, 2 3/8 x 6 5/16 x 1 9/16 in. (6 x 16 x 4 cm). Anonymous loan, L49.5. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, L49.5_PS11.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Panther Effigy Pipe
Date
100 BCE – 500 C.E.
Period
Woodland Period
Geography
Place found: Mann Site, Indiana, United States
Medium
Black Steatite
Classification
Dimensions
2 3/8 x 6 5/16 x 1 9/16 in. (6 x 16 x 4 cm)
Credit Line
Anonymous loan
Accession Number
L49.5
Rights
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.
Frequent Art Questions
Tell me more about the mythology behind the Underwater Panther?
The Underwater Panther belief is common among multiple indigenous groups from North America including groups still around today, like the Ojibwe.The creature is believed to live in the underworld and is one of many animals that reside there. Big cats were and are especially revered by people of the Americas as they are the largest predators in the Americas.
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