Native American Woodland Stone Pipe - Bird Form - Nov 09, 2017 | Artemis Gallery In Co
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Native American Woodland Stone Pipe - Bird Form

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Native American Woodland Stone Pipe - Bird Form
Native American Woodland Stone Pipe - Bird Form
Item Details
Description
North America, east-central Tennessee (Overton County), Middle Woodland period, ca. 200 to 1000 CE. A gorgeous dark greenstone bird effigy pipe. Wonderfully carved and incised with an avian face including detailing of the crest feathers, pointed beak, and pierced eyes. Platform pipes like this exemplify smoking technology during the Middle Woodland period. Custom stand. Size: 3.25" L x 1.625" H (8.3 cm x 4.1 cm); 3.25" H (8.3 cm) on included custom stand.

This type of pipe is a rare effigy form, which often featured animal figures, birds being the most common. Smoking pipes seem to have played an important role in Eastern Woodland culture, which spanned from sub-Arctic Canada to the southern United States. The earliest evidence we have for the use of tobacco in this area comes from ca. 100 to 200 CE; in addition to tobacco, and often prior to it, we know from ethnohistorical accounts that people smoked a variety of other plants, including dogwood, juniper, sumac, and bearberry. These pipes were not just made for the simple act of smoking; they seem to have had a strong religious component as well, and various archaeological sites from the period, including the Hopewell Mound sites, have the remains of hundreds of destroyed platform pipes, including effigy ones like this. Others were buried with their owners individually. Effigy platform pipes are believed to be totemic animals or spirits from Native cosmology.

Provenance: private Hagar collection, St. Louis, Missouri, USA collection

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#128965
Condition
Minor surface wear to peripheries, but generally excellent.
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Native American Woodland Stone Pipe - Bird Form

Estimate $1,000 - $1,500
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Starting Price $500
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Item located in Louisville, CO, us
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Artemis Gallery

Artemis Gallery

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