PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Vancouver

LITERATURE
Peter L. Macnair and Alan L. Hoover, The Magic Leaves: A History of Haida Argillite Carving, Royal British Columbia Museum, 2002, pages 72 - 73

Smoking was introduced to the Haida by the Euro-American explorers, whalers and traders who arrived on the Northwest Coast at the end of the eighteenth century. Once the Hudson's Bay Company was established there, it imported and sold clay pipes. Seeing this, the Haida took up carving argillite pipes, ranging from plain to complex, often combining Euro-American figures with stylized animals. In this and lot 160, the bowl is fully formed and could have been used for smoking. The bowls often took the form of a human head, as do both these lots. According to Peter Macnair and Alan Hoover, the production of these pipes flourished during the two or three decades following 1850. These early trade pipes are finely carved and both feature bone elements. The stylized animals and the carved faces on the figures and human heads on the bowls are strong and expressive. Exquisite works such as this, which show the Haida's interest in other cultures appearing on their shores, are rare to the market.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars

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