This argillite pipe bowl is in the shape of an eagle or thunderbird grasping a killer whale with its talons and beak. Generally argillite pipes are thought not to have been intended for use, but this one so closely resembles wooden smoking pipes from the northern tribes that it may be an exception. The metal cap of foreign make that closes the pipe bowl in the bird's head adds to the impression that this may have been a functional pipe. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

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)