Region / Tribe:  Southeast/Coosa-Tallapoosa Valley, Ala.

    Attributed to Shawnee-Creek*

Circa:   Early Contact Period

Material:   Catlinite, lead inlay

Dimension:   L. 6” x H. 2 1/2”

Condition:   Broken with native repair. Overall surface and patina are excellent. The old lead repair reflects both high regard and long and continuous use. There is a more recent glue repair to the shank.

References:   

Fundaburk and Foreman, eds., Sun Circles and Human Hands: The Southeastern Indians art and Industries, Luverne, Alabama, 1957, Plates 105 & 106, for two very similar examples.

West, George, Tobacco, Pipes and Smoking Customs of the American Indians, Part II, Milwaukee, Wis., 1934, Plate 177, p. 834. “Specialized... calumets and other rare forms from Wisconsin.” Milwaukee Public Museum, figure 6, “Catlinite Pipebowl of unusual shape.”

Collection History:  Ontario Estate Collection

Comments:   This is a fine example of a rare form. The sculpture is dynamic, the shaft is angular in cross section and contracts toward the center. The tall, elegant pipebowl, the flaring keel-shaped projection and the pierced and notched fin all add to the overall movement and grace of the pipe bowl. The ingenious and fine early repair secures the vase above an old hair line crack.