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Description

Pipe bowl in the shape of a raven lying on its back. Small three-dimensionally carved faces are at both sides of the beak. The pipe bowl, in the bird's stomach, has a copper insert. The stem hole is at the feet.

Specific Techniques

Hardwoods were used on the pipes because they were stronger and did not burn. The density of the wood gives better detail, allowing for really deep and crisp lines [Dempsey Bob – Tahltan/Tlingit, 2019].

History Of Use

With the introduction of commercial tobacco by Europeans in the late 18th century, Tlingit and Haida carvers began to create an imaginative range of wooden pipes. These usually represented clan crests, and were meant for honoured guests to use at ceremonial occasions, including feasts and potlatches that honoured the deceased. The pipes were often made of walnut and other non-native woods which, along with their metal components, were recycled from trade rifles that were beyond repair. During smoking, this large, heavy pipe would have been held as though the raven is lying on its back; the pipe bowl with copper insert rises from the bird’s belly, and the stem hole doubles as a small human’s open mouth at the raven’s feet.

Narrative

Lt. George T. Emmons collected the pipe, presumably in Alaska; in 1910 he sold it to George Gustav Heye, founder of the Museum of the American Indian, New York. In 1972 that museum made an exchange of the pipe with art dealer James Economos, and it was then sold to Dominique and John deMenil. In 1997 Adelaide DeMenil sold it at a Sotheby's NY auction, where it was purchased by Elspeth McConnell. Sotheby's was told by DeMenil that it was collected by G.T. Emmons in 1882, from a high-ranking Tlingit man named Nishox.