Pipe Bowl

Unrecorded Muscogee (Creek) (?) Artist Native American

ca. 1780

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

This pipe bowl is in the form of a crouching male clasping his hands against his chest. The figure tilts his head back and is adorned only by a metal gorget, a crescent-shaped element derived from European armor that here represents a diplomatic gift. A stem would have been inserted into the figure’s rear in order to smoke tobacco during political or ceremonial gatherings. New research on the similarity of the figure’s posture to archaeological examples and on the gorget detail has recently reattributed the figure to an unknown artist from the Southeast.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

References

Title: Pipe Bowl
Artist: Unrecorded Muscogee (Creek) (?) Artist (Native American)
Date: ca. 1780
Geography: United States, Georgia or Alabama
Culture: Muscogee (Creek) (?)
Medium: Wood, metal
Dimensions: H. 3 1/2 × W. 6 × D. 2 in. (8.9 × 15.2 × 5.1 cm)
Classification: Wood-Implements
Credit Line: Collection of Charles and Valerie Diker (531)
Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing