Mississippian Ceramic Pipe, Human Effigy, Ritual Figure, Cahokia
Native American, Mississippian culture, ca. 1050–1350 CE. A small human figure straddles the bowl of this horn-shaped clay pipe, head and torso rising from one side of the rim while the legs and feet dangle over the other. The arms fold close to the body, hands laid upon the thighs in an attitude of composed rest. Punctate eyes and mouth read against a single incised vertical line for the ridge of the nose; the ears are omitted entirely, leaving the face pared to essentials. The tapering stem swells slightly before terminating in a rounded, perforated mouthpiece. Hand-built in buff-brown earthenware and burnished before firing, the pipe belongs to the Mississippian effigy tradition, in which tobacco smoke carried petitions upward. The seated posture likely denotes an ancestor, spirit being, or ritual practitioner rather than a portrait of any individual. Size: 1.8" W x 6.5" H x 2.1" D (4.6 cm W x 16.5 cm H x 5.3 cm D).
The Mississippian world, radiating from Cahokia in the American Bottom near present-day St. Louis, was the largest urban and political complex north of Mexico before European contact. Its ritual life turned on maize, ancestors, and the smoking of native tobacco (Nicotiana rustica), a plant potent enough to induce visionary states and reserved for ceremonial rather than casual use.
Effigy pipes are among the most articulate survivals of that world. The celebrated examples are carved from Missouri flint clay, but modeled pottery pipes such as this one carried the same iconographic grammar in a more accessible medium. The recurring motif of a seated human, legs pendant or knees drawn up, hands upon the thighs, appears across Mississippian media and is generally read as a figure in ritual attitude: an ancestor at rest, a practitioner awaiting vision, or a personage from the mythic cycles later echoed in the oral traditions of Dhegihan Siouan and Muskogean descendant nations.
Provenance: private Colorado, USA Collection; ex-private Denver, Colorado, USA collection; ex-private Flushing, New York and Ridgeway, Colorado, USA collection, acquired November 2019 via private seller
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700.
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #
202340
Condition
Professionally repaired from two large pieces with adhesive along visible break line. Some minor pitting and light surface wear, but, otherwise, very nice with good remaining detail. Old collection label on verso.
Buyer's Premium
30%
Native American, Mississippian culture, ca. 1050–1350 CE. A small human figure straddles the bowl of this horn-shaped clay pipe, head and torso rising from one side of the rim while the legs and feet dangle over the other. The arms fold close to the body, hands laid upon the thighs in an attitude of composed rest. Punctate eyes and mouth read against a single incised vertical line for the ridge of the nose; the ears are omitted entirely, leaving the face pared to essentials. The tapering stem swells slightly before terminating in a rounded, perforated mouthpiece. Hand-built in buff-brown earthenware and burnished before firing, the pipe belongs to the Mississippian effigy tradition, in which tobacco smoke carried petitions upward. The seated posture likely denotes an ancestor, spirit being, or ritual practitioner rather than a portrait of any individual. Size: 1.8" W x 6.5" H x 2.1" D (4.6 cm W x 16.5 cm H x 5.3 cm D).
The Mississippian world, radiating from Cahokia in the American Bottom near present-day St. Louis, was the largest urban and political complex north of Mexico before European contact. Its ritual life turned on maize, ancestors, and the smoking of native tobacco (Nicotiana rustica), a plant potent enough to induce visionary states and reserved for ceremonial rather than casual use.
Effigy pipes are among the most articulate survivals of that world. The celebrated examples are carved from Missouri flint clay, but modeled pottery pipes such as this one carried the same iconographic grammar in a more accessible medium. The recurring motif of a seated human, legs pendant or knees drawn up, hands upon the thighs, appears across Mississippian media and is generally read as a figure in ritual attitude: an ancestor at rest, a practitioner awaiting vision, or a personage from the mythic cycles later echoed in the oral traditions of Dhegihan Siouan and Muskogean descendant nations.
Provenance: private Colorado, USA Collection; ex-private Denver, Colorado, USA collection; ex-private Flushing, New York and Ridgeway, Colorado, USA collection, acquired November 2019 via private seller
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700.
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #
202340
Condition
Professionally repaired from two large pieces with adhesive along visible break line. Some minor pitting and light surface wear, but, otherwise, very nice with good remaining detail. Old collection label on verso.
Buyer's Premium
30%
