Dig It - 11/4/24

Hey Fellow Seekers! When I first started in this business, early Woodland material was some of the rarest and most sought after material. While still rare, these items are not as desired as they once were. This is probably a Great Lakes pipe bowl dating from the mid-18th to early 19th centuries. This was the time of the "Clash of Empires" - first, the French and English/Americans; then the English and the Americans. Native Americans were continually at strife with one or more of these outside empires, as well as other Native Americans, as they were continually being pushed west. 

This pipe bowl has a foundation of beautiful, burl wood with a lead-inlaid vegetation motif. This motif could represent a number of things - a tree for strength and unity; or the tobacco plant or other sacred herb that would have been smoked in the pipe. These are just some of the many possibilities. The bowl does not show a lot of wear, so it was probably made as a presentation gift for an outsider. The result; however, is a very old and beautiful piece of Woodland Indian sculpture. -Lonesome