Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Pipe Bowl
Western Great Lakes or Eastern Plains
Not on view
This pipe bowl is a representation of a spirit helper with human attributes. The figure faces the smoker, and his arms and hands extend forward, creating a sense of connection between the two. Rising up from behind the spirit is a long-tailed, dragonlike being representing Michikinabik, the powerful ruler of the Underworld. Pipes with human and animal figures have a long history in the Woodlands of North America, and the tradition subsequently spread to the Plains.
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