Native American Hand-carved Pipestone Sculpture

Large Ute Native American Hand-carved Catlinite Pipestone Sculpture of a Ute Tribe (Utah) Elder - Sacred Pipestone Sculpture, by Patrick Chopito | Signed and dated by the artist in lower rear "P. Chopita 93" | Approx. Size: 17.25" Tall | Catlinite, also called pipestone, is a type of argillite (metamorphosed mudstone), usually brownish-red in color, which occurs in a matrix of Sioux Quartzite. Because it is fine-grained and easily worked, it is prized by Native Americans, primarily those of the Plains nations for use in making sculptures and ceremonial pipes.