Object Details
- Label Text
- Among many African peoples, pipe smoking is considered an important social activity, with men in particular using long pipes that require their full attention. This wooden pipe bowl and stem are carved from one piece of wood; the separate long mouthpiece is missing. The fine, imported copper wire suggests wealth in addition to providing ornamentation. The iron lining holds the burning tobacco.
- Description
- Wood cylindrical pipe bowl on a shaft through a flared cylindrical stem wrapped in fine copper wire, with a cylindrical flange on the ringed end.
- Provenance
- Michael Graham-Stewart, London, -- to 1989
- Exhibition History
- Art of the Personal Object, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 24, 1991-April 9, 2007
- Published References
- Hoffman, Ronald. 2007. "'The Bloody Writing is For Ever Torn': Domestic and International Consequences of the First Governmental Efforts to Abolish the Atlantic Slave Trade." Conference DVD set (August 8-12, Accra and Elmina, Ghana). Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Data Source
- National Museum of African Art
- Maker
- Undetermined artist
- Date
- Late 19th-early 20th century
- Credit Line
- Acquisition grant from the James Smithson Society
- Medium
- Wood, copper alloy wire,iron
- Dimensions
- H x W: 23.5 x 9 cm (9 1/4 x 3 9/16 in.)
- Type
- Sculpture
