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Longer Description

Piece of carved argillite pipe depicting a man sitting on a stool with a barrel behind him and a curving form in front of him. The fragment has been carved from a single piece of argillite and is carved identically on both sides (although one side has suffered more damage than the other). The base of the pipe is squared and decorated with three horizontal lines, each incised with short, perpendicular lines radiating downward. The end of the pipe is carved with a three-plumed object, projecting upward from the base of the pipe, with each plume widening and then curling at the top. The forearms of a man rest against the top of the plumes and his hands hold a stick or tool which enters into the plumes. The man is seated on a stool, and he is dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and trousers with a double stripe down the side and around the calf. He is wearing boots on his feet, which are propped up on an angled plinth. His hair is carved in segments of parallel lines and extends to his shoulders. Behind the stool and is a tall barrel. The edge of the barrel has a portion missing and the base at this point is irregularly shaped, indicating the pipe would have extended further at this point originally. [CAK 21/05/2009]

Description

Piece of carved argillite pipe depicting a man sitting on a stool with a barrel behind him and a curving form in front of him. [CAK 21/05/2009]

Research Notes

It is unlikely fragments 2212 and 2213 (1938.35.1543 and 1938.35.1544) are two pieces of the same pipe as the scale of the human figures and bases are very different and as the base of each pipe features a different design; pipe bases normally represented the hull of a ship at the water line, hence it would be unlikely to have two such different designs on one pipe (i.e. one ship). [CAK 21/05/2009]

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. The figure was described by delegates as European because of the style of his trousers (the line running down the side of the leg) and the fact that he is depicted wearing shoes. Natalie Fournier thought the figure might be a blacksmith, and proposed there could be cold water in the barrel and abstract curling smoke. There was another suggestion that there is a bellows in the scene. One delegate suggested the figure could be carving while sitting, and that at the very least, he was doing some form of work and appeared to have a tool in his hand. One delegate wondered if he was pulling something out of the barrel.
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 18/05/2010]

Primary Documentation

Accession Book Entry [Balfour 5] - 'Balfour gift 1939...2212/2213 [1 of] Two shale stone carvings; man seated on stool stirring contents of some vessel (?), with a barrel behind his back, [and bearded man carrying animal (?wolf) tied to his back]. Apparently modern work exhibiting white man's influence. Same provenance ["HAIDA, QUEEN CHARLOTTE ID., BRITISH COLUMBIA"]. (Both affixed to one wooden board).'
Additional Accession Book Entry - '2212/2213: poss. two ends of one pipe, with a central portion (a cabin-type structure) missing. Or poss. parts of 2 pipes. Def. Haida

There is no further information on the catalogue card. [CW 9 6 98]

Pitt Rivers Museum label - NW COAST HAIDA Q. CHARLOTTE IS. part of argillite pipe. Don. by Balfour 1939 Balfour 2212 [CAK 21/05/2009]

Written on object - Balfour 2212 [CAK 21/05/2009]

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]