Alaska, Inuit
Circa 1900
Marine ivory
Length 7 5/8" (19.4 cm)
Provenance: Ralph Nash, London; Peter and Vera Schnell, Zurich, Switzerland
Engraved ivory pipes were produced by Inuit carvers in Alaska from the mid-19th century onward, initially for personal use and increasingly as objects that circulated between indigenous communities and outside collectors. The engraved imagery on pipes of this type functions similarly to that on bow drills and other journal objects, recording hunting scenes, animal encounters, and daily life in incised pictorial sequences along the shaft. Pipes produced circa 1900 represent a transitional period in which traditional engraving skill remained active while new outside markets were beginning to shape production.
This pipe is carved from marine ivory with engraved figural and animal scenes covering the shaft, the imagery detailed and clearly composed with the confidence of a practiced hand. The piece carries a distinguished double European provenance, passing through Ralph Nash of London and subsequently the collection of Peter and Vera Schnell of Zurich, Switzerland, the same Schnell collection from which other significant Arctic pieces in this group descend. The warm ivory tone and surface condition are consistent with age and careful preservation across multiple decades of European private collection holding.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Alaska, Inuit
Circa 1900
Marine ivory
Length 7 5/8" (19.4 cm)
Provenance: Ralph Nash, London; Peter and Vera Schnell, Zurich, Switzerland
Engraved ivory pipes were produced by Inuit carvers in Alaska from the mid-19th century onward, initially for personal use and increasingly as objects that circulated between indigenous communities and outside collectors. The engraved imagery on pipes of this type functions similarly to that on bow drills and other journal objects, recording hunting scenes, animal encounters, and daily life in incised pictorial sequences along the shaft. Pipes produced circa 1900 represent a transitional period in which traditional engraving skill remained active while new outside markets were beginning to shape production.
This pipe is carved from marine ivory with engraved figural and animal scenes covering the shaft, the imagery detailed and clearly composed with the confidence of a practiced hand. The piece carries a distinguished double European provenance, passing through Ralph Nash of London and subsequently the collection of Peter and Vera Schnell of Zurich, Switzerland, the same Schnell collection from which other significant Arctic pieces in this group descend. The warm ivory tone and surface condition are consistent with age and careful preservation across multiple decades of European private collection holding.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
