Pipe (Cleveland Museum of Art 2010.199)
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1800s–1900s
Mothers often used long-stemmed pipes like this because they helped direct smoke away from the babies they carried on their backs. Carved by men, pipes were used by both men and women. A female maker added beaded fringe using a color scheme typical of Xhosa beadwork. The miniature apron suspended from the fringe suggests a woman’s garment, and thus ownership of this pipe. Social and leisure practices, smoking and snuffing tobacco were also associated with the ancestors and with ideas of fertility and procreation. Inherited between individuals and families, pipes have connected clans and generations and thus linked the worldly present with the ancestral past. Cleveland Museum of Art object 2010.199: Pipe, 1800s–1900s. Africa, Southern Africa, South Africa, Xhosa-style maker(s). Wood, copper, glass beads, sinew, leather, and thread; overall: 20.3 cm (8 in.). Details are those of this museum object; how far it represents a wider type has not been independently verified.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 2
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
The basic form of pipes like this one derives from examples made from clay, which the Dutch introduced at the end of the 1500s.
Physical characteristics
- Materials
- Wood, copper, glass beads, sinew, leather, and thread
- Dimensions
- Overall: 20.3 cm (8 in.)
- Measurements
- Overall: 20.3 cm (8 in.)
- Material and technique
- Wood, copper, glass beads, sinew, leather, and thread
Identification
- Date recorded
- 1800s–1900s
- Culture period
- Africa, Southern Africa, South Africa, Xhosa-style maker(s)
- Holding institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Museum object number
- 2010.199
- Published references
- Pemberton, John, and Smith College Museum of Art. African Beaded Art: Power and Adornment . Northampton, MA, Smith College Museum of Art, 2008 cat. 114
- Museum classification
- Tools and Equipment
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: this record describes a single museum object; confirm maker, materials and date against pipe references.