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Publications History

For an account of the Charles A. Pope Collection, see Speaking for Themselves: The Pope Collection of Native American Artifacts in the Pitt Rivers Museum, by Lindsey Richardson (University of Oxford: M.Sc. dissertation in Material Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, 2001); copy in RDF (Collectors: Pope). [JC 6 1 2004]

Description

?Piece of an argillite panel pipe carved with raven, killer whale and bear figures. [CAK 08/06/2009]

Display History

Loaned to the Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam, for the exhibition 500 Jaar Tabakscultur, 9 October 1992 to 9 October 1993. [JC 5 7 1996]

Longer Description

?Piece of an argillite panel pipe carved with raven, killer whale and bear figures. (It is difficult to determine if the pipe has been broken alone the end with the raven figure, or if it is intact.) The pipe is carved, in open-work fashion, from a single piece of argillite. The base is flat, and the pipe increases in height from one end to the other. The raven figure is carved with a bird head with a long, straight beak and ears. The raven's body is human-like and sitting against a ?plant, with legs extended and raised slightly, arms extended, and hands with long fingers. A reclining animal figure can be found along the base of the pipe, facing upwards, with hind legs bent and positioned under the raven's feet. The hind paws are very animal-like, while the front paws are more hand-like. The bear has a large snout and ears. The front paws/hands of the bear grasp the fins of a killer whale positioned over the bear, facing the raven. The fluked tail of the whale curves down and into the bear's mouth. An irregular shaped and curving segment protrudes from the whale's tail and connects with the bear's snout. A duct has been drilled the length of the base but no bowl is evident. [CAK 09/06/2009]

Primary Documentation

Accession Book Entry - 'POPE, Dr. of Christ Church...12 slate stone plaque: open work: Killer Whale and Raven. ibid [i.e. N.W. AMERICA]'.
Additional Accession Book Entry - 'QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS HAIDA INDIANS (The only Indians who make these carvings)

Card Catalogue Entry - Indicates pipe was transferred from the University Museum in 1887. [CAK 08/06/2009]

Pitt Rivers Museum label - 'Raven' Killer-whale' [KJ 01/04/2009]

Pitt Rivers Museum label - NW COAST HAIDA Q. CHARLOTTE IS. part of argillite pipe. Coll. by Dr. Pope, Christ Church Coll, his no. 12. [CAK 08/06/2009]

Written on object - Dr. Pope 12 [CAK 09/06/2009]

Related Documents File - [in Collectors: Pope] "Speaking for Themselves: The Pope Collection of Native American Artifacts in the Pitt Rivers Museum" MSc Dissertation by Lindsey Richardson. Transfer date from Ashmolean to Pitt Rivers given as 1886 [CAK 09/06/2009]

Related Documents File - The Haida Project Related Documents File contains video of research sessions and interviews with Haida delegates from September 2009 as part of the project ‘Haida Material Culture in British Museums: Generating New Forms of Knowledge'. It also includes post-visit communications that discuss object provenance. For extensive photographic, video, and textual records documenting the Haida research visit as a whole, including but not limited to preparations of objects for handling, travel logistics, British Museum participation, transcribed notes from research sessions and associated public events held at PRM, see the Haida Project Digital Archive, stored with the Accessions Registers. Original hand-written notes taken during research sessions have been accessioned into the Manuscripts collection, in addition to select other materials. [CAK 02/06/2010]

Research Notes

The following information comes from Haida delegates who worked with the museum's collection in September 2009 as part of the project “Haida Material Culture in British Museums: Generating New Forms of Knowledge”:
This pipe was viewed alongside other argillite carvings on Tuesday Sept 15, 2009. Delegates identified the figures as a raven, killer whale and bear. Nika Collison noted the pipe was broken at two points: on the back of the raven and at the top of the ear of the bear. She also added that there was no bowl for the tobacco.
A group discussion about argillite raised the following points. Argillite is only carved on Haida Gwaii. It is a natural resource of the islands, is very brittle and difficult to carve. Black is the most common variety, but rarer red and brown varieties also exist. It requires a skillful hand to carve it successfully. In addition to early trading, argillite served an important purpose during difficult years in Haida communities. Even when not skillfully executed, argillite allowed carvers to record stories and oral histories, like previous generations did in wood before them; they were able to preserve a significant amount of information that might otherwise have been lost. Argillite also provided a medium for Haidas to be satirical about the Europeans they were encountering. [CAK 27/05/2010]

For additional information on Haida argillite pipes, see Robin K Wright's article on pages 48-55 of American Indian Art Magazine, Winter 1982, Volume, Issue, and Peter McNair's chapter, "From the Hands of Master Carpenter" within the Vancouver Art Gallery's catalogue for the exhibition 'Raven Travelling: Two centuries of Haida Art' (published by Douglas and McIntyre and the University of Washington Press. There is scant evidence for the use of argillite pipes among the Haidas themselves, however, Haida artists readily adapted the material to create elaborate pipes for sale to sailors and traders at least as early as the 1820s. [CAK 08/06/2009]