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Pipe bowl
Pipe bowl
Pipe bowl
This relative, a pipe bowl, is carved in the shape of a bear's head. Composed of maple wood and leather thongs with traces of red pigment and feather fragments, the metal liner of the bowl is lead as well as the stem ends. Although the origins of this relative are not certain, it is believed to be from the Eastern Great Lakes, probably Anishinaabe. This pipe bowl was collected by British Army officer Jasper Grant between 1800 and 1809 during his military service in Canada.
This relative currently resides in the National Museum of Ireland.
This information was informed by the following resource: Phillips, Ruth. Patterns of Power. Kleinburg, On.: Patterns of Power, 1984.
Read More About This Relative
Maple wood; leather thongs; traces of red pigment; feather fragments; lead metal liner at bowl and stem ends
head of a bear, quartered circle
This pipe is carved as a bear effigy positioned to face the smoker when offerings of tobacco were made. Other cosmic symbols are the axis mundi or cross of the four cardinal directions and sun motifs enclosing crosses on both sides of the bear's neck (Patterns of Power).
Jasper Grant served as commandant of Fort George in the Niagara Peninsula and of Fort Malden at Amherstburg opposite Detroit from 1800-1809.
Provenance
Jasper Grant (1762-1812), Anglo-Irish officer who spent 9 years in Canada between 1800-1809. Served as commandant of Fort George in the Niagara Peninsula and of Fort Malden at Amherstburg opposite Detroit. It is likely that his wife, Isabella Grant, played a significant role in the collection of items given her close relationship to Madeline Askin Richardson, the daughter of a prominent fur trader and merchant with extensive ties to the surrounding Indigenous communities.
GRASAC researcher notes from research trip to the National Museum of Ireland on July 21, 2010.
In 1984-1985 the Jasper Grant Collection was featured in a special travelling exhibition for the Ontario bicentennial, which was organized by the McMichael Canadian Collection and entitled "Patterns of Power."
Phillips, Ruth. Patterns of Power. Kleinburg,On.: McMichael Canadian Collection, 1984.
Philips, Ruth B. (1986-87). “Jasper Grant and Edward Walsh: the Gentleman-Soldier as Early Collector of Great Lakes Indian Art.” Journal of Canadian Studies 21(4): 56-71.
About This GRASAC Record
Maker, Name unrecorded. Pipe bowl. GRASAC ID: 26640. National Museum of Ireland Collection, 1902.359.
This record was augmented by Dana Murray on November 11, 2024. It was informed by notes and images collected during the GRASAC research trip to the National Museum of Ireland on July 21, 2010. Participants included Alan Corbiere, Bhnens Corbiere, Crystal Migwans, Nikolaus Stolle, Rachel Hand, and Ruth Phillips who were assisted by Padraig Clancy.
42.107, -83.1132
This information was informed by the following resource: Phillips, Ruth. Patterns of Power. Kleinburg, On.: Patterns of Power, 1984. Fort Malden is identified on the map as a possible origin for this relative, but this reflects only one place where the relative may have lived. It is not a known place of origin; it is only one location associated with where the collector, Jasper Grant, served in the British Army.