Pipe
date: label: Date
content: Early-late 19th century
name: label: Maker
content: Undetermined artist
notes: label: Label Text
content: A great variety of wood pipes are found in the southeastern region of South Africa, particularly in the Transkei, and can generally be attributed to the Xhosa peoples. Often carved in the form of animals, humans or vehicles with spoked wheels, these pipes are given as wedding presents or as gifts to maintain social or kinship ties. They can become prized family heirlooms passed down from one generation to the next and are only used on special occasions.
label: Label Text
content: This example has the intriguing (though unproven) provenance that it was owned by the Zulu warrior king Cetshwayo, who supposedly received it at the Battle of Isandhlwana on January 22, 1879.
label: Description
content: Wood pipe with hollow egg shaped bowl lined with iron and with exterior inlaid with white metal circles. The short stem ends in a globular mouthpiece.
label: Provenance
content: Michael Graham-Stewart, London, -- to 1989
label: Exhibition History
content: Art of the Personal Object, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 24, 1991-April 9, 2007
label: Content Statement
content: As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
label: Image Requests
content: High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
place: label: Geography
content: South Africa
topic: label: Topic
content: Male use
label: Topic
content: Tobacco
label: Topic
content: male
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African Art Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Acquisition grant from the James Smithson Society
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African Art
identifier: label: Object number
content: 89-8-21
objectType: label: Type
content: Sculpture
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Wood, white metal, iron
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 6.4 x 3.5 x 16.5 cm (2 1/2 x 1 3/8 x 6 1/2 in.)