A Hupa Pipe c. 1900 wood, stone, with old paper tag affixed, inscribed Indian Pipe from Trinity River, California, Presented by R.S. Lammot; 107-68 This pipe style, called a cloud blower, requires the smoker to lie on his back or to tip his head way back to insure that the tobacco did not drop out of the cup. Ethnologist Stewart Cullin collected several for the Brooklyn Museum on his 1905 trip to California. He found pipes "in common use were tubes of wood, expanding at the mouth like a trumpet, and tipped with a ring of steatite. The ordinary ones were some five inches in length and carried in a tubular pouch, which also served to hold tobacco. The longer ones, eight to twelve inches in length, were described as doctor's pipes or as used in the sweat-house," Diana Fane, Ira Jacknis, and Lise M. Breen, Objects of Myth and Memory, p. 178. In addition to the examples in the Brooklyn Museum, similar examples can be found in the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology, and the National Museum of the American Indian, #1240. Length: 9 ½ inches HID03101062020 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

Heritage Auctions strongly encourages in-person inspection of items by the bidder. Statements by Heritage regarding the condition of objects are for guidance only and should not be relied upon as statements of fact, and do not constitute a representation, warranty, or assumption of liability by Heritage. All lots offered are sold "AS IS"