A long, thin, argillite pipe with elaborately carved figures and rarely found tracings of pigments-yellow, blue, and red. The object is in fair condition. A 1938 conservation record indicates that the pipe stem was broken and repaired with iron rods and other materials. This will be reversed by Conservation. Peter NcNair 3/29/2005 said that the earliest argillite pipes were stubby. He said that 'Panel pipes' began to appear in the late 1820s-1830s and were never intended to be smoked. Peter added that he has never seen any with residue indicating use, although it was physically possible to smoke them. Red vermillon used on the pipes came from China via Americans in the Sea Otter fur trade business. Red, blue, and yellow pigments were used to outline the carved forms. Peter comments: "Absolutely unique. I've seen them with red, but never with blue or yellow."

All that remains of Mimbres villages are rubble mounds with scattered pottery shards. No one knows if the Mimbres moved or who their descendants might be. Mimbres potters, probably women, created sophisticated designs for six hundred years. The pottery objects that have survived are primarily executed in black and white with complicated designs. Some of the best pottery pieces apparently had holes deliberately punched into their centers before they were placed in burials underneath house floors, but we do not know why.

The object is an unevenly shaped bowl made from a low fired ceramicware. The inside of the bowl is covered with white slip upon which has been painted a design in dark red-bown pigment. The design consists of three dancing male figures. The faces of these figures have been left white except for a black masklike band across their eyes. Their heads are decorated with cross hatching; the figures hold staffs. The rim of the bowl has several chips missing. Two drilled holes are also in the rim. There is a blind crack extending from two fragmented sections along the rim. The object was broken into three large sections in the past and repaired. The overall surface is worn.

Frank L. Babbott Fund

Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund

Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund

Worn by both men and women, tubes of bone or wood pushed through the ear were a common form of personal adornment in central California.These have been elaborately decorated with feathers and clamshell.

The exact use of this staff is unknown. It was possibly used as a shaman's curing staff. It depicts a raven with a long beak and flattened wings along the side. (Photograph does not show the body or the long staff itself). Most of the greenish paint has come off.

Abstract lightening and maze forms.

Brooklyn Museum Collection