Chief's Pipe Stem Item Number: 50.67.115 from the Brooklyn Museum
Description
This is a flat, wooden pipe stem, painted blue-green at the bowl end. The end nearer the mouth piece is decorated with a combination of colored lines which are narrow strips of braided quillwork wrapped around to encircle the flat stem. These strips are carefully planned to create a striped design from the combination of narrow bands as they are stacked or lined up one after the other. The design is red, white, blue, and black on one side and different on the reverse, consisting largely of black triangles tipped with short horizontal bands and offset by long horizontal bands. The bands are colored blackish-purple, orange and white. A hide strap is covered with long white bird quill wrapped fringes. Red horsehair is tied on at both ends of the quillwork and bird scalps are also attached.
Credit Line
Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund
Inscribed
"Chief's pipe stem, Sioux"
Item History
- Made between 1800 and 1825
What
- Name
- Chief's Pipe Stem
- Identification Number
- 50.67.115
- Type of Item
- pipe stem
- Material
- wood, pigment, porcupine quill, horse hair, bird scalp and buckskin
- Overall
- length 33.75 in, width 2.75 in, height 0.75 in
Who
- Culture
- Sioux
Where
- Holding Institution
- Brooklyn Museum
When
- Creation Date
- between 1800 and 1825
Other
- Classification
- Ceremonial