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Description

Argillite panel pipe intricately carved with bird, fish and animal figures. [CAK 09/06/2009]

Longer Description

Argillite panel pipe intricately carved with bird, fish and animal figures. The pipe is carved, in open-work fashion, on all sides (including the underside of the base) from a single piece of argillite. The main figure found along the base of the pipe is an eagle with an exaggerated head with an open, crooked beak and smaller wings. Following the contours of the eagle's head is a smaller bird figure, forming one end of the pipe. A drilled hole is visible between the wings. Meeting the mouth of this figure, and extending over the eagle's beak, are two long horns or spines that connect with a fish figure (possibly a shark, sculpin or black cod) with large eyes and smaller fins that extend into the middle of the pipe. The tongue is protruding out of the mouth. The hind quarters of a furry mammal can be seen under the fish's mandible. The back of this animal forms the top of the pipe, and on one side, very long paws are still visible (they have broken off the other side). The head of this animal is close to its body and it appears to have a beak-like mouth that meets with the head of the fish. The fish's body and tail form the other end of the pipe. It has large eyes, but no mouth is visible. The pipe bowl has been carved in its back. The tail of the fish curves from the base of the pipe up along its back. In between the fish's tail and the eagle figure is a small mammal, with its head facing the base of the pipe and its front paws positioned toward the middle of the pipe. The small section between this mammal and the eagle is filled with a design that may be the eagle's talons, or may be the hind quarters of the mammal. The central portion of the pipe has been carved away, including drilled holes through the joints of the furry mammal on the top of the pipe. The thickness of the figures at the base of the pipe may allow for the bowl to be connected to the mouth piece by a drilled duct. [CAK 09/06/2009]

Primary Documentation

Accession Book Entry - June 1921. Louis C. G. Clarke Esq. contd. - 1921.346... Slate-stone pipe with totemic carving, HAIDA, N. W. AMERICA.
Additional Accession Book Entry - Number given LW.

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

Pitt Rivers Museum label - Stone pipe with totemic carving. HAIDA N.W. AMERICA. dd. L.C.G. Clarke, 1921. [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 pieces on Tuesday Sept 15, 2009. Christian White described this as an old piece. He identified the figures as a shark with an open mouth (not a dogfish), bear cub, eagle and raven. Other delegates identified the shark-figure as a sculpin or black cod. Instead of a bear cub, other delegates also thought that particular figure could be a kind of frog, and possibly a sea-frog because of the hair. They were uncertain why this frog-like creature would have a beak-like feature. The high proportion of drilled sections in the pipe were thought to be a result of the common practice of removing as much excess stone to relieve pressure when carving thereby reducing the danger of the argillite cracking or splitting. The pipe was described as a panel pipe.
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 13/05/2010]

An earlier description suggested this pipe was an "early example". It is unclear where this information came from. If the pipe is an early example, the date of manufacture may need to be revised as decorated argillite pipes made for trade were being produced at least as early as the 1820s. [CAK 09/06/2009]

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]