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The bear effigy on one of these two pipes is fairly common on Haudenosaunee pipes. (c.f. Rochester Museum & Science Center, cat.no. 5000/99). One the other pipe the rim of the bowl has been modeled in the form of a female figure. (c.f. Mathews, 1979, fig.13a & b; Heye & Pepper, 1915, pl.XII-A). It has been suggested that this figure represents the "Mother of Nations," the legendary woman who descended from the heavens in Iroquois creation stories. Effigy pipes of this type were far less common among the Iroquois and they may have been introduced by Erie or Huron captives after 1650 (Mathews 1978, p.337, figs.105a,b). The image of a bear may refer to a guardian spirit. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
ProvenanceJonathan Holstein, Cazenovia, New York
BibliographyVincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.41.
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.
Culture
Seneca (Haudenosaunee)
Pipe
Date1600-1699
MediumClay
DimensionsOverall: 3 3/4 × 1 1/2 × 6 1/2 in. (9.5 × 3.8 × 16.5 cm)
Object numberT0027
Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextPerhaps influenced by the Hopewell culture to the south, the Haudenosaunee-speaking tribes around the eastern Great Lakes started to use effigy pipes as early as the 15th century, and this art form proliferated in the early historical period. Most of these effigies are self-directed, i.e. they face the smoker. Considerable evidence suggests that of these effigies represent personal guardian spirits. Facing the smoker these effigies were a focus for his or her meditation; pipe smoking itself was a mental device used to concentrate one's thoughts. The bear effigy on one of these two pipes is fairly common on Haudenosaunee pipes. (c.f. Rochester Museum & Science Center, cat.no. 5000/99). One the other pipe the rim of the bowl has been modeled in the form of a female figure. (c.f. Mathews, 1979, fig.13a & b; Heye & Pepper, 1915, pl.XII-A). It has been suggested that this figure represents the "Mother of Nations," the legendary woman who descended from the heavens in Iroquois creation stories. Effigy pipes of this type were far less common among the Iroquois and they may have been introduced by Erie or Huron captives after 1650 (Mathews 1978, p.337, figs.105a,b). The image of a bear may refer to a guardian spirit. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
ProvenanceJonathan Holstein, Cazenovia, New York
BibliographyVincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.41.
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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