Lot 1809
Fish - Carved Steatite Pipe. Chumash Indians, Channel Islands, California, c. 17th-19th Century. A sizable pipe fashioned from variegated brown-gray steatite, and modeled with relief eye-sockets, and both upright and angled dorsal fins. White shell appliques, with central piercing, have been applied with asphaltum in a line rimming the upper mouth, and down along each side. The fish swims with mouth wide open. A bone or shell tube comprises the pipe stem. Discreet repairs to the fins and rear end of the pipe, otherwise piece well preserved. Length: 12-1/2". Mounted on custom base. An important Chumash artifact.
Estimated Value $4,000 - 6,500.
Closely similar examples from the excavations carried out by E.K. Burnett, at Sequit Canyon, Malibu, near Los Angeles, California, can be seen on plate XVIII and frontispiece of his report, Inlaid Stone and Bone Artifacts from Southern California, Contributions Vol. XIII, Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York, 1944. A copy of this journal accompanies this lot.
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