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War Chief's Carved Pipe Stem

Arts of the Americas

THE JARVIS COLLECTION
The articles in this case and the adjacent clothing case [see 50.67.6] are some of the earliest and finest Eastern Plains pieces in existence. They were collected by Dr. Nathan Sturges Jarvis, a military surgeon stationed at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, between 1833 and 1836. Most items were made by the Eastern and Middle Dakota (Sioux) or by the peoples of the Red River region, including the Red River Métis, Anishinabe, Plains Cree, and Salteaux. Some of the objects were purchased by Jarvis, and others may have been given to him in exchange for his medical services.

By the early nineteenth century, the growing numbers of white settlers and military personnel—following decades of fur trading—had depleted much of the game on which the Dakota and Red River peoples depended. Indigenous ingenuity in combining trade materials such as cloth, metal, and glass beads with traditional hides, pipestone, and porcupine and bird quills is evident in these objects.
MEDIUM Wood, pigment
DATES early 19th century
DIMENSIONS 43 3/4 x 3 x 1/2 in. (111.1 x 7.6 x 1.3 cm)  (show scale)
COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas
ACCESSION NUMBER 50.67.65
CREDIT LINE Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund
PROVENANCE Prior to 1848, provenance not yet documented; by 1848, acquired by Nathan Sturges Jarvis; 1848, gift of Nathan Sturges Jarvis to the New-York Historical Society, New York, NY; 1937, loaned by the New-York Historical Society to the Brooklyn Museum; 1950, purchased from the New-York Historical Society by the Brooklyn Museum.
Provenance FAQ
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Carved wood flat pipe stem of the "trick" type. Geometrically-shaped cutouts were made in the center of the stem and the un-initiated had to guess how the smoke traveled through it. Decorated with red and blue-green paint, it shows slash marks made with a hot metal file for added decoration.
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Sioux. War Chief's Carved Pipe Stem, early 19th century. Wood, pigment, 43 3/4 x 3 x 1/2 in. (111.1 x 7.6 x 1.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.65. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 50.67.65_acetate_bw.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 50.67.65_acetate_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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