pipe bowl fragment

pipe bowl fragment

pipe bowl fragment

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Introduction

This argillite pipe bowl fragment has a human effigy who is wearing a bear headdress. The pipe was likely taken from a burial in Nottawasaga Township, Ontario. Images of the pipe bowl fragment have been removed because of its burial context, It currently resides at the Royal Ontario Museum.

Traditional Knowledge Label
TK Culturally Sensitive
TK Culturally Sensitive

This material has cultural and/or historical sensitivities

Place of Origin: Nottawasaga Township, Simcoe County, ON
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

Royal Ontario Museum documentation.

Materials

Stone, argillite.

Techniques or Format

Carved

Motifs and Patterns

Human effigy with bear emerging from top of head; incised semi-circular line at body.

ROM record: Human wearing bear headdress.

Other Notes

From Annual Archaeological Report of Ontario for 1891. Provincial archaeologist David Boyle wrote: "The pipe of which Fig. 88 is but the ornamental part must have been a fine sample of aboriginal skill and taste. The material is argillite. The combination of heads is remarkable. Forehead, ears, eyes, nose and jaws in the dog's (?) are carefully worked out - much more so, indeed than in the human head, which is surmounted. Perhaps the idea of this design was drawn from the practice of wearing masks in some dances. As these masks, attached to the head, could be raised or pulled down, it is not improbable that the design was suggested in this way." See publication history below for full citation details.

Dimensions: 0 × 3.5 × 5 cm
Condition: Fair, object is broken
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

ROM documentation

Current Location: Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON, Canada
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: NS11098
Collection at Current Location: Normal School Collection
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1933
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Toronto Normal School Museum of Natural History and Fine Arts
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: 1889 or earlier
Collection Narratives and Histories

The pipe was originally presented to the Canadian Institute Museum by Mr. Angus Buie, Nottawasaga, Ontario, in 1889. In 1896, the collections of the Canadian Institute Museum were transferred to the Normal School. In 1933, portions of the Normal School Collection were transferred to the Royal Ontario Museum. In the 1970s, a relative of Mr. Angus Buie identified this pipe as being taken from a burial.

Source for Provenance information

Museum documentation and Archaeological Reports of Ontario.

Publication History

Sketch & comment appear in the Annual Archaeological Reports of Ontario: David Boyle, "Notes on Specimens," in Fourth Annual Report of the Canadian Institute, Session of 1890-91, being an Appendix to the Report of the Minister of Education, Ontario, 1891 (Toronto: Warwick & Sons, 1891) p. 38.

Comment on Source of Exhibition & Publication Data

A complete set of the AAROs are available in the library of the Royal Ontario Museum. This volume is also available as a digital copy through the Internet Archive (www.archive.org)

GKS Reference Number: 25070
How to Cite this Item

Unknown artist, pipe bowl fragment. Currently in the Royal Ontario Museum, NS11098. GRASAC item id 25070.

Record Creation Context

Record created during a GRASAC trip to Royal Ontario Museum December 15 to 19, 2008. Present in the archaeology lab: Heidi Bohaker (HB), Mark Scheibmayer.
This record was updated by Cara Krmpotich on January 30, 2024. The images were removed to respect Indigenous, GRASAC and ROM protocols to not share images of burial items.

Approximate Place of Origin

44.41089, -80.25187

Source of Information about Places

Recorded in AARO/Museum documentation

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