pwaagan, pipe bowl

pwaagan, pipe bowl

pwaagan, pipe bowl

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Introduction

This relative is a dark green steatite pwaagan (pipe bowl) with short pointed prow. Although the precise origins of this relative are not clear, it is likely Anishinaabe and made in the nineteenth century. 

This relative was collected by Charles Hallowell Stephens. His 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
Maker role: Artist
Nation of Maker: Anishinaabe
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

GRASAC research notes indicate that the style is Anishinaabe.

Date Made or Date Range: 1800s to 1890s
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

The information in this record is based on museum documentation.

Materials

steatite, dark green

Techniques or Format

It has a flaring cylindrical pipe bowl, short pointed prow and rounded cylindrical shank with beveled flat bottom surface, angled crest toward end of the shank.

Dimensions: 13.6 × 6.5 × 7.2 cm
Condition: It is in good condition.
Current Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 45-15-1400
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/80014
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, 1945.
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: Before 1945
Collection Narratives and Histories

This relative was collected by Charles Hallowell Stephens. His 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.

Source for Provenance information

Museum documentation.

GKS Reference Number: 26145
How to Cite this Item

Maker, Name unrecorded. Pwaagan, pipe bowl. GRASAC ID 26145. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 45-15-1400.

Record Creation Context

This information was gathered during a GRASAC research visit to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
This record was augmented by Joy Kruse on March 26, 2025.

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