Pipe Item Number: 1927.1446 from the MAA: University of Cambridge

Description

Short pipe with a bird, possibly an Eagle, holding the bowl between its wings, and a sharp faced mammal touching the otherside of the bowl. The mouthpiece is held between the arms of a humanoid creature whose body extends along the base of the pipe.; Good

Context

The original European tribal names and, where possible, current tribal names have both been given in separate GLT fields.; The style and subject matter of this object conforms to those of the First Period of argillite carving, 1800-1835, the so-called period of Haida non-sense . The carvings are typically ceremonial pipes and Panel pipes, depicting ambiguous creatures that on first glance appear to resemble crest animals but on closer examination are revealed to be non-sensical combinations of characteristics. The reason for this subversion of crest designs is possibly because at this time the giving away of crest bearing objects was antithetical to Haida social and cultural beliefs. This was because attendant on the ownership of a crest was a variety of resources and privileges which could not be jeopardised by a counter claim to access communicated by ownership of a crest bearing object. To own a crest bearing object communicated a legitimate claim to the attendant resources, therefore to give away such objects was not sanctioned (G.Crowther). (The time periods of argillite carving are derived from Carol Sheehan' s Pipes That Won' t Smoke; Coal That Won' t Burn; Haida Sculpture in Argillite, 1981, Glenbow Museum: Calgary, and Peter Macnair and Alan Hoover' s The Magic Leaves, 1984, British Columbian Provincial Museum: Victoria.)The mounts that were at the Pumphouse Gallery are packed in the box with the objects.