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Human Effigy War Pipe

Undated

Not on view

This pipe was present at the beginning of the Wind Gens, one of many clans in Osage ceremonial organization. An abstract face appears at the bottom of the bowl, and it may belong to a supernatural being that has assumed human form. Clan members would have used this pipe, along with materials comprising a sacred bundle, to honor sacred beings and procure their blessings. An origin story, songs, and ritual procedures were central to the ceremonies.

Human Effigy War Pipe, Stone (calcite), pigment, cane, wood, sinew, native-tanned leather, glass beads, copper, native cordage, human hair, Osage — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Human Effigy War Pipe, Stone (calcite), pigment, cane, wood, sinew, native-tanned leather, glass beads, copper, native cordage, human hair, Osage

Human Effigy War Pipe, Stone (calcite), pigment, cane, wood, sinew, native-tanned leather, glass beads, copper, native cordage, human hair, Osage

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Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Human Effigy War Pipe

Date: Undated

Geography: United States, Kansas

Culture: Osage

Medium: Stone (calcite), pigment, cane, wood, sinew, native-tanned leather, glass beads, copper, native cordage, human hair

Dimensions: Bowl Length: 2 3/8 in. (6 cm)
Stem Length: 22 in. (55.9 cm)

Classification: Miscellaneous

Credit Line: National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., Department of Anthropology (E276133-0)

Accession Number: SL.7.2015.56.2

The Met

The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at The Met

The Met's collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America comprises more than eleven thousand works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present.