pipe bowl

pipe bowl

pipe bowl

top image
Images
Introduction

This relative is the bowl of a smoking pipe, pwaagan. It is Ojibwa, made of black steatite and is decorated with a crest and incised rings around the bowl and stem-base. The crest is a thin, rectangular section that extends up from the stem-base. It has two sets of L-shaped cut-outs and ridged vertical edges.

The pipe bowl currently resides in the Canadian Museum of History.

Nation of Maker: Anishinaabe Ojibwe
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

CMH records identify this pipe bowl as Ojibwa.

Date Made or Date Range: c. 1850
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

GRASAC researchers and Canadian Museum of History records.

Materials

black pipestone, or steatite

Motifs and Patterns

The relative has an ornamental crest with open work designs. There are incised rings around the bowl opening and on two sides of the stem-base opening. The edges of the crest are marked with parallel grooves.

Other Notes

There is a short, tapered, anterior projection.

Dimensions: 12.2 × 0 × 8 mm
Condition: It appears to be in good condition.
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

CMH record indicates the pipe stem was given to the Reverened William Parker by the Ven Archdeacon in 1856.

Current Location: Canadian Museum of History, Ottawa, Canada
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: III-G-825
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://www.historymuseum.ca/collections/artifact/33833
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1973
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: A. Speyer
Collection Narratives and Histories

Label in Speyer archival file: "...American Indian [...] was presented to the Revd William Parker by the Ven Archdeacon[...]in the year 1856." CMH record (May/75).

Source for Provenance information

CMH records.

Exhibition History

Boujou Neejee, April 1976-August 1979
Cobourg Art Gallery, September 1979-October 1979

Publication History

Flint Institute of Arts (1973) "The Art of the Great Lakes Indians", p. 24 (Ojibwa). Exhibition Catalogue.
West, George A. "Tobacco, Pipes and Smoking Customs of the American Indian". Bull. Pub. Mus. City of Milwaukee. Vol XVII 1934 Plate 173 (Wisconsin).
Benndorf, Helga and Arthur Speyer (1968). Indianer Nordamerikas 1760-1860. Offenbach, Germany: Deutschen Ledermuseum.

Comment on Source of Exhibition & Publication Data

CMH records.

GKS Reference Number: 24916
How to Cite this Item

Unknown. "Pipe Bowl" GRASAC ID 24916. Located in the Canadian Museum of History, catalogue number III-G-822.

Record Creation Context

This record was augmented by Shamina Vastani in February 2024.

Do You Have Knowledge to Contribute? Share with Us.