canunpa, pipe bowl and stem

canunpa, pipe bowl and stem

canunpa, pipe bowl and stem

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Introduction

This relative is a wooden canunpa or pipe bowl with lead inlay around rim and engraved designs. Originally belonging to Standing Bear, a Ponca Indian chief, this relative was collected by Charles Hallowell Stephens on November 19, 1902. Stephens acquired the canunpa from a dealer who said that it came from the Wilson family who had collected the relative in 1861. Although the precise origin of this relative is not clear, museum documentation indicates that it was made by either Minnesota Sioux or Minnesota Dakota. 

Stephens's whole collection was left to his son D. Owen Stephens, whose wife sold it to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1945, where this relative currently resides. 

Name of Maker(s): Maker Unrecorded
Nation of Maker: Sioux
Nation of Origin

Probably Minnesota Dakota, based on collection information.

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

The information in this record is based on museum documentation.

Materials

wood; lead inlay; paint, green and yellow.

Techniques or Format

Carved of wood with engraved designs and lead inlay. Lines and chip carving are filled with paint. There are hot file marks on lower facets of shank and along the bottom. The designs are identical on both sides. The puzzle stem is flat and fits the bowl.

Motifs and Patterns

There are chip carved triangles and a club (resembling a suit from playing cards).

Dimensions: 65.4 × 5.1 × 0 cm
Condition: They are in good condition.
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

This pipe is documented as being collected in 1861.

Current Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 45-15-1422A (bowl); 45-15-1422B (stem)
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/352433
Collection at Current Location: Charles H. Stephens Collection
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1945
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Purchased from Mrs. Owen Stephens, the daughter in law of Charles Stephens, 1945
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: 1861
Collection Narratives and Histories

This relative was collected by Charles Hallowell Stephens on Nov. 19, 1902, from a dealer who said it came from the Wilson family, was collected in 1861, made by the Minnesota Sioux, and formerly belonged to Standing Bear, a Ponca Indian chief. Stephens's whole collection was left to his son D. Owen Stephens, whose wife sold it to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1945, where this bag currently resides.

Source for Provenance information

Museum documentation.

GKS Reference Number: 25397
How to Cite this Item

Maker, Name unrecorded. Canunpa, pipe bowl and stem. GRASAC ID 25397. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 45-15-1422A & 45-15-1422B.

Creative Commons Licence

This record draws on GRASAC research notes and museum documentation. It was augmented by Joy Kruse in March 2025.

Source of Information about Places

Attributed to the Minnesota Sioux by collector, who also suggested it was collected from Standing Bear, Ponca Indian Chief

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