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Pipe Bowl

1800–1820
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 a representation of a spirit helper with human attributes. The figure faces the smoker, and his arms and hands extend forward, creating a sense of connection between the two. Rising up from behind the spirit is a long-tailed, dragonlike being representing Michikinabik, the powerful ruler of the Underworld. Pipes with human and animal figures have a long history in the Woodlands of North America, and the tradition subsequently spread to the Plains.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Pipe Bowl
  • Date: 1800–1820
  • Geography: United States, Western Great Lakes or Eastern Plains
  • Culture: Western Great Lakes or Eastern Plains
  • Medium: Catlinite (red pipestone)
  • Dimensions: Length: 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm)
    Width: 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm)
  • Classification: Stone-Implements
  • Credit Line: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Gift of the Heirs of David Kimball, 1899 (99-12-10/53106.1)
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing