Kneeling Figure Effigy Pipe Item Number: 37.2802PA from the Brooklyn Museum
Description
Carved grey stone pipe bowl representing a youthful male in an attitude of submission. Crouching with arms pulled back along his sides, his head is strained forward, and his mouth is open with teeth exposed. His hairdo is elaborate with two beads hanging down over his forehead. He is wearing multiple beaded armbands, wristbands, and legbands. The bowl of the pipe is carved into his back.
Credit Line
Frank Sherman Benson Fund and the Henry L. Batterman Fund
Label
On this pipe a youthful male, probably a warrior, is represented in an attitude of submission, with his head straining forward. His elaborate hairdo and multiple strands of beads indicate that he might have enjoyed high status. The use of the sculpture as a pipe, with the stem inserted into the figure’s back, may bestow power on the smoker. The form and iconography of this compactly carved pipe bowl provide insights into rituals of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century warfare among the chiefly societies that dominated what is now the southeastern United States.
En esta pipa un hombre joven, probablemente un guerrero, se representa en actitud de sumisión, con su cabeza inclinada hacia adelante. Su peinado elaborado y los múltiples filamentos de cuentas indican que puede haber pertenecido a la alta sociedad. El uso de la escultura como pipa, con la boquilla insertada en la espalda de la figura, puede otorgar poder al fumador. La forma e iconografía de esta cazoleta tallada en forma compacta provee elementos para entender los rituales guerreros del siglo quince y dieciséis entre las principales sociedades que dominaban lo que es hoy el sudeste de los Estados Unidos
Item History
- Made between 1400 and 1500
What
Where
- Holding Institution
- Brooklyn Museum
When
- Creation Date
- between 1400 and 1500
Other
- Location
- Arts of the Americas Galleries, 5th Floor
- Classification
- Smoking/Drugs