According to Peter L. Macnair and Alan Hoover, argillite Haida ship panel pipes first appeared around 1841. [1] Unlike later panel pipes that are almost entirely composed of totemic figures, ship panel pipes are hybrid objects that blend Euro-American architectural and ship elements with Haida style carvings. These objects are an early form of made-for-sale argillite carving that reflect early Haida interpretations of the large-scale military boats and steamships that began appearing in their territory. Macnair and Hoover describe the composition of these pipes as "usually [incorporating] a billet-head, less often a figurehead, [that] may include parts of the ship's superstructure, gear, and rigging, and often depict Euro-Americans engaged in a variety of nautical activities". [2.]

The present lot is a very large and early example of a Haida ship panel pipe. When facing the billet-head to the left, there is a seated human, dog, a second human grasping the dog, a smaller lifeboat with an octopus and a third human, a window that may represent a ship cabin and chimney, a large bird, and a fourth human leaning against a floral or scrollwork structure depicted on this pipe. This panel pipe has several inlaid bone elements in its trail board and a semicircle bone inlay on both sides of the lifeboat to represent a paddlewheel or turbine. Between the figures are flourishes of berries, floral elements, and scrollwork that may represent different types of gear, rigging, and components from a ship just as Macnair and Hoover described. The pipe's impressive scale, intricate assortment of figures, and probable early date make this panel pipe a particularly fascinating example of early Haida argillite carving.

1. See The Magic Leaves: A History of Haida Argillite Carving (1984; 2002) by Peter L. Macnair and Alan Hoover, p. 21.

2. ibid, p. 39

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