Pipe

Date1670-1687

MediumClay

DimensionsOverall: 3 7/8 × 1 1/2 × 8 7/8 in. (9.8 × 3.8 × 22.5 cm)

Object numberT0026

Credit LineLoan from the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust

Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC

Label TextThe use of effigy pipes in Haudenosaunee culture extended far back. Possibly it was the product of cultural exchange with the Hopewell peoples to the south. The ritual use of pipes and tobacco at important events, religious ceremonies and as traditional medicine was widespread in North America. The effigies on these pipes faced the smoker, providing a focus for the smokers’ thoughts. The pipes may also have represented personal guardian spirits who acted as intermediaries between man and the supernatural, supporting the meditative qualities of tobacco inhalation. Tobacco was considered a gift from the Creator, with the smoke carrying prayers directly back to the Creator.
ProvenanceAlbert Hoffman; F. Llewelyn Casterline Collection, Belmont, New York; Jonathan Holstein, Cazenovia, New York
BibliographyMathews, Zena Pearlstone. The Relation of Seneca False Face Masks to Seneca and Ontario Archaeology. New York: Garland Publishing, 1978, p.337, figs.105a,b.

Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.47.

Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 25.

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