"The Offering" Pipe
19th Century
This extraordinary figural pipe bowl is one of the finest known. The scene carved on the pipe shows two seated figures, male and female, with the man offering a rum keg to the woman. The keg contents, rum, was considered a trance-inducing hallucinogenic intoxicant. This exotic drink was a newly introduced and highly desirable commodity on the frontier. These pipes were often used for religious practices; the human pipe bowl head facing the smoker represents a spiritual guardian.
Penobscot Crown
Ca. 1600's - 1800's Northeast
This silver Penobscot Crown symbolizes political diplomacy between Native Americans and Europeans. Individual members of the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes once owned these objects of trade silver. Hatbands or crowns were only given to tribal leaders, along with lace-trimmed European military jackets and ruffled shirts. Holes within the crown were made for feathers to be stitched into the hat for stability. This became a staple for Native American fashion.
Pipe Tomahawk
Ca. 1800's
Pipe Tomahawks are a significant part of the trading among the Europeans and Native Americans. Around 25% of trade silver was seen as equal to guns, blankets, beads, and kettles by many Native American tribes.
"GW" Pipe Tomahawk
Ca. 1700 - 1800's
Pipe Tomahawks were a trade item used to bring peace among Europeans and several tribes, as tobacco played an essential role in Native religious ceremonies. Tomahawks are associated with violence and conflict, so combining a pipe and a tomahawk represents a choice between peace and war. The silversmith who made this pipe initialed "GW" on the tomahawk handle, which stands for George Walker, a silversmith from Pennsylvania.
Dutch Glass Bottles
Ca. 1700 - 1800's
Dutch Trade Bottles varied in all shapes and sizes and had many uses. The sand used to create each glass had iron oxide, which caused the bottles to range from light green to dark brown. The bottles held several types of alcohol, either medicinal or recreational. The Dutch Bell and Onion bottles were created to ship more bottles efficiently overseas. They often had wine with spirits to preserve it during shipment. The Large Porter and English 1800s bottles held liquors with higher alcohol content. The square-shaped Dutch Gin bottle was used specifically for medicinal and recreational gin.
Objects on display: Dutch Large Porter, Dutch English 1800s, Dutch Bell, Dutch Onion, Dutch Gin Bottle
Haudenosaunee Wampum Wristbands
Ca. 1600-1800's
Wampum refers to the tiny, cylindrical shell beads used primarily as currency, personal adornment, and ceremonial functions. Wampum bestows an aura of wealth and prestige on its owner. The bead maker uses stone grinders to shape and polish small portions of the shell into wampum. A tiny hole is then drilled through the center of each cylinder with a bow-powered drill. These wampum wristbands were fashioned from the purple and white Quahog shell by Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Native Americans of the Northeast between 1770 and 1800.
(Not Pictured) The wampum belt fragment, circa 1600s, was hand-crafted in the Eastern region of North America.