Exhibit Label

In the 1840s non-Haida subject matter almost completely dominated the argillite carvers' repertoire. Long panel pipes, thin slabs of argillite intricately carved and pierced into silhouette friezes of shipboard scenes, were in style. They are pipes only in that they have a tiny hole drilled down from the top to meet a similar hole drilled along the bottom from one end. Very often, as in this pipe, a rectangular motif suggesting a ship's cabin occupies the center. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)