Unrecorded artist, N.Nguni Peoples

Notes

Two fine pipes. The shorter would have belonged to a man, and the longer is in the form of a traditional woman’s pipe. The stem length of these pipes could vary greatly. These pipes, while shared and traded, would never do so with the original mouthpiece. Each person would have their own and insert it into a pipe that is being shared. The inlay decoration, seldom seen in larger pipes, was created by carving patterns into the surface. Hot molten lead was then poured into the carved areas. After cooling, the excess lead was removed and smoothed over with a knife. A great variety of wooden pipes is found in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa and is generally attributed to the Xhosa peoples. Pipes may be given as wedding presents or as gifts to maintain social or kinship ties. They can become family heirlooms passed down from one generation to the next and are only used on special occasions. In this example, the bowl sits on a wheel shape to which the stem is attached. The pipe bowl is inlaid with lead. (ref. Smithsonian) See a similar example in the Smithsonian collection.