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Lot 118A
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Mississippian Stone Effigy Pipe - Kneeling Human Figure
Mississippian Stone Effigy Pipe - Kneeling Human Figure
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Native American, Mississippian culture, ca. 1000–1500 CE. A kneeling human figure carved in soft, pale stone, its body folded into the compact posture that defines the great effigy pipes of the Eastern Woodlands. The subject rests on bent legs, feet tucked beneath the body, hands laid quietly atop the knees, while the broad head tilts gently upward as if in address or contemplation. The face is rendered with deliberate economy: a flattened brow, heavy planes of cheek, and a calm, frontal gaze. Beneath the seated form, a rectangular aperture and bowl reveal the object's working function as a smoking pipe, the human likeness transforming a ritual implement into a vessel of presence. Traces of ochre-toned pigment linger in the porous surface, hinting at an original coloration now softened by centuries in the earth. Size: 1.9" W x 3.5" H x 2.7" D (4.8 cm W x 8.9 cm H x 6.9 cm D).

Kneeling-figure effigy pipes are among the most evocative sculptural achievements of the Mississippian world (ca. 1000 to 1500 CE), a network of mound-building societies centered on the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys. Such pipes were not idle objects: tobacco smoking carried profound ceremonial weight, and the act of drawing breath through a human likeness bound the living, the ancestral, and the supernatural in a single ritual gesture. The compact, self-contained pose, knees drawn up, hands folded, head raised, recurs across the iconography of the region and is often read as a posture of reverence or readiness. Found near Chillicothe, Ohio, this example sits within a landscape long famous for its earthworks, where the ancient mortuary and ceremonial traditions of the Woodlands reached their fullest expression.

Provenance: private Colorado, USA Collection; ex-private Denver, Colorado, USA collection; ex-private Flushing, New York and Ridgeway, Colorado, USA collection, acquired in January 2018; found near Chillicothe, Ohio, USA

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Item # 203062

  • Condition: Fair. Repaired and restored so that mouthpiece is now missing. Chip to headdress, as well as nicks and pitting throughout. Otherwise, nice presentation with good remaining detail.

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by Artemis Fine Arts
June 25, 2026 9:00 AM MDT
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Artemis Fine Arts

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000