This hook is lacking the lashings at the joint of the two arms and the seat of the barb. The short length of cord knotted to the carved arm is of twisted spruce root. The figures carved in the wood are a bird, perhaps an eagle, clutching the nose of a halibut with its talons. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

Early in the argillite carving tradition, Haida artists began experimenting with exotic subject matter. At the time this pipe was carved, it was becoming popular to combine native Haida themes with figures and motifs that were part of the strange new world being opened by traders and seamen. The foreigners themselves became the subjects, and their accoutrements and equipment, even their ships, found places in this art form. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

The paint is black, red, green, and blue.