✅ SOLVED Smoking Pipe?

[Bruce R]

I found this in a field bordering a large stream where I've always found arrowheads, it's some kind of ceramic with a brown glaze over the whole thing. If you can see in the photos the piece is glazed inside as well, also, the "stem" end that looks broken off is glazed, so it must have been made that way. Anyone have any ideas I know the Indians used tobacco, but I thought they used those "peace pipes" too much TV for me I guess.View attachment 1303820View attachment 1303822View attachment 1303823View attachment 1303824View attachment 1303825View attachment 1303826

 

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[CRUSADER]

looks like a tea pot spout.

 

[Bruce R]

I thought the same thing, but then it wouldn't be glazed where it attached to the pot. Two separate firings are required, one to vitrify the clay, once that is done the glaze is applied and then fired again.

 

[kcm]

I'm going with pipe.

 

[Bramblefind]

In the book "Indian trade Relics" (Lar Hothem) there are photos of clay trade pipes and cane stems which were used to trade with the Native Americans. They don't have the same style as your piece but perhaps if that is what your item is it could be older than these...

 

[ivan salis]

older style homemade type of pipe .... not trade pipe...remember the white man took up smoking tobacco from the Indians ...it was a "American" Indian produced item that Sir Walter Raliegh brought back to England...it might be a "pre white contact" Indain tobacco pipe...it could have had a cattail reed stem or no stem at all..

 

[CRUSADER]

older style homemade type of pipe .... not trade pipe...remember the white man took up smoking tobacco from the Indians ...it was a "American" Indian produced item that Sir Walter Raliegh brought back to England...it might be a "pre white contact" Indain tobacco pipe...it could have had a cattail reed stem or no stem at all..

And they glazed those?

 

[villagenut]

Are you sure it is a glaze and not just a natural coloration from ground effects?

 

[Indian Steve]

It looks like it has a mold line in the first picture. If it is a mold line, it is not Native American. Very cool find.

 

[Bruce R]

I've never tried to clean this thing other than swishing it around in the kitchen sink. I'll try a toothbrush and Dawn and then try to get some good closeup photos. There's no mold lines and it's definitely glazed but the glaze can be seen to be very thin where it's flaked off, so I'm guessing it's some organic, low temperature stuff rather than the powdered glass glazes of more sophisticated pieces.

 

[always diggin]

Congrats on the find.

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

If it has glaze I doubt it is pre contact American Indian, none of the pottery shards I have ever found had any glaze at all.

 

[Bruce R]

Ok, here's a couple more pix. If you look down inside the thing you can see where the clay was rolled together, it just seems like someone took a wad of white clay and molded it around their thumb, and then shoved a stick through it . Can you see where the glaze is coming off ?View attachment 1304077View attachment 1304079View attachment 1304080View attachment 1304081View attachment 1304082View attachment 1304083View attachment 1304084 Maybe I'm just using the wrong term when I say glazing, perhaps the thing was made of white clay, fired, and then coated with red or brown clay and fired again.

 

[Fullstock]

It sure looks like an early colonial pipe with the stem broken off.

 

[flinthunter]

Looks like a natural concretion. Just my opinion.

 

[Bruce R]

I sent photos to the state museum in Harrisburg, if it's anything significant, I'll give it to them.

 

[Icewing]

Are you sure it's not bone or even deer antlers?

 

[Bruce R]

I'm positive it's man made

 

[Bruce R]

Curator at the State Museum believes it to be a small oil lamp, it goes way,way back. I'm sending it to them, it's better off there than rolling around in my sock drawer. They'll notify me of their final determination.

 

[Digzit2]

That is a really great find!I would have said pipe.