Early argillite carving among the Haida was employed to represent the strange (to them) world of Euro-American sailors. Sophisticated depictions of sailors [see Lot 18] and ships’ features came into being. This montage features refined images of a steam-powered ship with two paddle wheels, a smokestack, and two windowed cabins. The ship appears to be underway on a sea with a turned-up spiral-form wave at the bow (a shape that in some other examples represents the ship’s billet head). Thus, the planked ship swims along with its paddle wheels half submerged, appearing to be in motion.

On the port side of the ship, the smaller of the two cabins has a bone overlay pierced with eight “windows”. On the starboard side, the bone overlay is only on the larger cabin, but with nine windows. Four men represent the crew. The skipper is at the bow, and a second aft-facing, curiously hooded figure behind him seems about to enter the forward cabin. A second aft-facing figure appears to be reading a book that rests atop the angled smokestack. A fourth, hat-wearing figure is forward-facing in the stern. Is it possible that these two portray a preacher and his audience of one? The clothing of all four figures is beautifully detailed with zigzag seams. An unusual and charming feature of this pipe is the figure of a wolf or dog inside the large cabin, perhaps eager to be fed or set free by the hooded man.

Steven C. Brown