Here are some pipes done in a Southeastern style. All are based on items attributed to the Cherokee, who traded pieces like these as far away as Maine to both Colonists and other natives. The material is a soapstone that was mined in Virginia, that same band pops up in western NC where the Cherokee sourced their stone. The effigy pipe is based off of a piece in the Warnock Collection. The others are patterned after artefacts from historic Cherokee towns,dug by the TVA before flooding the valleys and seriously damaging the integrity of the sites. Since my primary interpretation is that of a Cherokee warrior I have made an effort to preserve the memory of the reknowned pipe makers and offer a smoking piece ideal for any warrior, or person who had contact with native peoples in the backwoods. I have devoted considerable time to the study of the original pieces both in museums and texts, affording me the ability to re-create specific examples and offer interpretive works.
The other pipe is a piece by Ward Oles, included with his permission. Copied from an article in the British Museum, The curves of this pipe are what makes it and the others distinctively Cherokee. The material is also soapstone, but a finer grade than those mentioned above. All of the articles are made with a stone appropriate to the originals they are copies of. The finer stone of the original was possibly gotten in trade with northern peoples.
A copy of the original pipe is included for two of the repros, posting them on the blog is considered fair use by their respective institutions.
Warnock pipe copy. I did deliberately make the face different on this pipe; I would not copy a mask.
Copy and photos supplied by Joseph Privott.
The copies of the reproduction pipe based on the Warnock collection were provided by Russel Young. There are also unnecessary duplicates of some photos, and the copy of the reproduction pipe by Ward Oles is not present, but has been submitted.
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