$2,500.00
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13th Century
3" H x 3.5" L x 1.25" W
Hand Carved from Steatite Stone of a Pipe with a Carved Bird on the Front
Excellent Condition
Mound Builders is a various prehistoric Native American cultures (primarily Woodland and Mississippian periods, roughly 1000 BCE to 1500 CE) in the eastern and midwestern United States, known for constructing large earthen mounds for ceremonial and platform purposes. These groups, including the Hopewell and Fort Ancient cultures, crafted intricate stone artifacts, often using steatite (soapstone)—a soft, carvable metamorphic rock prized for its heat resistance and workability. Pipe bowls, or "effigy pipes," were common ceremonial items, symbolizing spiritual connections, clan totems, or natural elements. Bird motifs, representing freedom, the sky, or messengers to the spirit world, are frequent in these designs, appearing in cultures from Ohio Valley sites like the Feurt Mounds to broader Mississippian traditions.
Provenance: From the Len and Toni Wood Private Collection, Laguna Beach, California
Condition:
Excellent
Tribe:
Moundbuilder - Mississippian
Year Range:
Prehistoric / Pre Columbian AD 400-1500
Region:
Southwest
Dimensions:
3 in3.5 in1.25 in
