Description:
Missionary Cabinet. “Esquimaux” or Inuit pipe, potentially from northern Alaska. The shape, materials, and size resemble other similarly dated pipes from Alaska, described in the "Report of the United States Commission to the Columbian Historical Exposition at Madrid, 1892-93." The stem is wooden, with white residue and black marks near the bowl, and lighter colored sections throughout where the sinew fibers attaching the bowl to the stem were wrapped. There is a small section of metal encircling the bowl where it touches the wood, potentially used as another fastener. The bowl is “made from a stone found near Hudson’s Bay,” which was possibly obtained through fur trading networks with Hudson’s Bay Company or other posts. Alternatively, the pipe’s origins could be closer to the Hudson Bay, rather than Alaska. Listed as #5 in the “Catalogue of Cabinet of Articles sent by Missionaries to Mt. Hol. Fem. Sem. all before 1892” under American Indians. Small tag wound around the pipe stem and mouthpiece with twine reads “Esquimaux Pipe A. B. Clarke.”

Tags:
Native American; indigenous people

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=MH+16.F.M

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