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Longer Description

Pipe carved from argillite with bird, killer whale, beaver, butterfly, bear, and human figure. Broken into two pieces [.1, .2]. The long, flat pipe (or 'panel pipe') has been carved from a single piece of argillite. It is roughly rectangular in shape, however, one end is taller than the other. For orientation purposes, the object is described working from the shorter end on the left, to the higher end on the right. The two sides of the pipe are identical in their carving. The short end of the pipe [.1] is formed by the back of a butterfly, whose long tail curves along the base of the pipe, and whose round eye and curling proboscis curve along the top of the pipe. The insect's body has been divided into segments by sets of three incised lines. At a point almost midway up its back, on the end, is a hole drilled for as the pipe's mouthpiece. Between the insect's head and tail is a central section that appears to depict its wings: the wings are decorated with characteristic formline shapes such as ovoids and 'U's, and has some cross-hatching. There is also what appears to be an animal's arm and paw extending from the belly of the insect, bent at the elbow, with the paw at the top. Resting between the proboscis, animal arm and tail of the insect is a human figure on bent knees, his/her torso leaning forward, and head tilted back forming the top edge of the pipe. The face features thick eyebrows, large eyes, wide nose and lips. The human's hands appear to be large paws, while the feet are simply outlined. The human's chin rests on the forehead of an animal, probably a bear. The animal has large ears at the top of the pipe which contain the pipe bowl, wide eyes, a snout and large, closed mouth. Forearms and paws extend down from its shoulders and are bent so that the paws are under his mouth. Another arm and hand, more human in appearance, extend down from the mouth of the animal to the base of the pipe, adjacent to the insect's tail. The pipe is broken along this line, tracing the animal's ear, forearm, and paw to the wrist and hand of the extended arm. The next section [.2] includes a killer whale at the base of the pipe whose tail joins to the hand, and whose back runs underneath the animal's forearm and paw. The dorsal fin extends upward along the animal's upper forearm; the dorsal fin has a circle carved out of it. The body of the whale is decorated on each side with incised, semi-circular lines and a fin with an ovoid and cross-hatching. The face of the whale has eyes depicted by ovoids, round nostrils and a mouth parted to show a row of teeth. The face of the whale abuts the wing of a bird. The wing extends from the base of the pipe three-quarters of the way up the pipe. The feathers are demarcated by angled lines and a scalloped edge. The tail feathers of the bird start near the base of the pipe, above which is the birds torso. Both tail feathers and torso are decorated with ovoids. The head of the bird points toward the pipe and a long straight beak extends along the top of the pipe. The bird has eyes and ears and may be a raven given the straight long beak. The beak is open slightly and is grasped by the forepaws of a beaver. The bird is likely a kingfisher, flicker, or other smaller bird (not a raven as described in the records). The beaver's back rests against the dorsal fin of the whale, and it's hindquarters follow along the back and head of the whale. The tail of the beaver appears as a curving segment extending from its bottom between its hind legs and up to its forepaws. The head of the beaver is tilted back, facing upwards. Its tongue protrudes out and enters the tip of the bird's beak. The beaver has rounded nostrils with a tall, straight bridge to the nose. The eyes are wide and the ears are large. Extending from the beaver's nose, between the ears is a column of five rings (characteristic of beavers) that joins to the bear's ears on the first segment. The ears of the beaver would have attached to the shoulder of the bear. [CAK 30/04/2009]

Description

Pipe carved from argillite with bird, killer whale, beaver, butterfly, bear, and human figure. Broken into two pieces [.1, .2]. [CAK 30/04/2009]

Primary Documentation

Accession Book Entry [Balfour 5] - 'Balfour gift 1939... 2209. Slate (? or shale) stone pipe carved with totemic designs: raven, killer-whale, 'butterfly', together with three semi-human figures. HAIDA, QUEEN CHARLOTTE ID., BRITISH COLUMBIA. Purch. 1891 (In wooden glass-fronted frame)'. [Added in pencil] Argillite.

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

Pitt Rivers Museum label - NW COAST HAIDA Q. CHARLOTTE IS. Argillite pipe broken in two parts. Don. by Balfour 1939 Balfour 2209 [El.B 01/04/2009]

Written on object - [on each piece] Balfour 2209 [El.B 01/04/2009]

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. The pipe was described as being in two parts. At the end of one half of the pipe is a figure variously described as a crane, hummingbird, cormorant, kingfisher or woodpecker. Gwaai Edenshaw wondered if it could be a flicker more specifically, which is part of the kingfisher family. Gwaai described it has being smaller than a kingfisher with orange feathers on the inside of its wings, visible as flashes of colour when it is flying quickly.
The description of this bird as a raven was dismissed because the shape of the beak is very different to conventional representations of raven. It was noted that it could be a really badly styled raven.
On the other end of the pipe is a figure described as a butterfly by Nika Collison and Christian White, though Christian thought it is possible it could be a dragonfly and Gaahlaay (Lonnie Young) described it as a mosquito. Christian clarified that dragonflies usually have a human figure on the forehead. He gave the Haida word for butterfly as stl'akam. This insect was described as distinctive because of the proboscis which curls tightly at the end.
Kristy Alsop identified two of the other figures as a killer whale and bear. Another delegate thought there were bears and a male depicted.
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]