Knowledge Sharing Platform
pipe tomahawk
pipe tomahawk
pipe tomahawk
A tomahawk pipe with decorative stamping on the wooden stem and cast metal bowl. Late 18th to 19th century. Pipe tomahawks were made by the English or French and distributed to Aboriginal allies.
Pipe-tomahawks were made by both the French and English and distributed to Aboriginal allies.
Based on observations made by the GRASAC research team.
Read More About This Relative
wood; cast metal
A cast metal bowl/blade with a wooden stem. There is a circular depression on the blade, probably stamped (circular depressions are also on other side of the blade which were possibly intended to hold inlays which have since fallen out). The stem has been decoratively stamped.
The stem is decorated with eight angled bands of stamped punctures, each of which is a half moon shape (possibly made by the tip of a rat tail file). It is not known if they spiral around the stem. A cast pattern on the bowl is a circle of vertically oriented diamonds.
Symbolizing both peace and war, pipe-tomahawks were traded and used, especially in ceremonies, well into the 1800s.
According to the McCord Museum, "[t]his type of object was first introduced by French and English traders and administrators in the early 18th century, but became very popular from the last part of the 18th to the first quarter of the 19th century." http://www.musee-mccord.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/M2155?Lang=1&acce…
Provenance
McCord Museum, "Pipe Tomahawk" http://www.musee-mccord.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/M2155?Lang=1&acce…
About This GRASAC Record
This record was created on 9 April 2007, as part of a GRASAC research visit to Scotland.
On-site researchers: Cory Willmott, Heidi Bohaker, Laura Peers, Ruth Phillips, Keith Jamieson, Alan Corbiere, Alison Brown, Patricia Allen.