Could you please tell me if this is an effigy pipe? Thanks

ncmom

Tenderfoot
Feb 10, 2010
6
0
I have an item that I was told is a very old and rare effigy pipe...but not sure what it is.
Does anyone have any infomation they could share about it....
I have many other pictures but could not add but one for some reason.
Thanks so much!
ncmom

This item depicts & has an alligator head at the front of it...Top of the alligator's head is what I would call "red clay brown" in color....the alligator's mouth and eyes are carved out slightly to look open..there are tiny holes for the nose holes and there is a tiny hole in the front of the mouth. Then moving on up it seems to take on another form along with the alligator head and body...the form of a person with legs and arms (arms are over their tucked up legs...the arm at the wrist has what appears to be a piece of jewelry, possibly a bracelet) it looks as though the person is sitting on top of the alligator's body...the person has a hole in the center of their belly or chest ...the hole is green around the outer edge of it....between the alligator's head and the persons belly area there is a raised oval section which is green in color with a dot behind it which appears to be white in color....The persons head is very detailed with decoration on their head and also at each side of the face...the face is also very detailed as in the features of the face..the eyes, nose and mouth are quite precise and detailed. The back side of the persons head is almost flat and there is a rounded smooth curve between the head and the larger object behind the head....this larger object has a squash or gourd shape to it and on top it is the same color of what I call "red clay brown" as is the color of the alligators head. This larger object has 5 holes...2 holes on one side and 1 hole on the other side...there is also a square shaped hole which is located on front across from back of the persons head. The last and 5th hole is located on top of this larger object which is a very thin and small hole with a horizontal shape to it. There are 8 indentions or grooves on back and bottom of this larger object at the end it.....the indentions are in between raised lines which start at mid section and continue on to bottom of it.
Bottom is in the shape of an alligator until you get to the other end where it rounds out some what.
You can hear something inside it moving around but I can not see what it is...so that is a mystery.
The only thing I see missing from this item is the right hand as it has broken off at some time but the arm remains intact...the item was missing a hand when I received it. But other than the arm missing....I don't see anything else missing...nothing else is broken and in very nice condition.
It appears to have old dirt or clay on it which I did not remove.
The dirt or clay I am speaking of has that dug out the earth look to it...but the dirt or clay is clearly very, very old and been on it for some time.
 

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Very nice pipe! You have provided great pictures and description but unfortunately one the keys to ID'ing this piece is WHERE it came from. Yes it has dirt on it but how did you obtain this pipe? I have tons of books on this sort of thing but to save me time, I would like to know more about how and where it was found.
Dave.
 

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With that many holes in it, I would guess it is a whistle or type of flute. Have you tried blowing through it and covering the different holes to see if it makes sound? It does look central American (Mayan?). They do make reproductions. Not saying this is.
 

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Awesome pipe! Perhaps blowing on it will summon a Mayan god. Or maybe inhaling from it will summon a Mayan god, as well. :wink:
 

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Interesting , Very Interesting !!! Looks Pre-Columbian to me
 

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Maybe an incense burner? I can't tell if the crocodile head would serve as a pipe stem or not? Is it hollow with a hole in the end? Flute also comes to mind. Monty
 

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Thanks for the information....Unfortunately I don't know much about it and I apologize for that. It appears to be made out of clay,pottery or possibly stone...but I not sure which or if either of them. This effigy belonged to my uncle. He was a world traveler for many years and collected many items in his life time from his travels and many experiences...he just about did it all when it comes to experiences & adventures... but his most beloved experiences were on excavation sites in Kentucky & Ohio as he loved hunting for artifacts...I wonder if this effigy may have come from Kentucky or Ohio since he spent a lot of time there excavating over the years...but I don't know. He was a very educated man who loved putting his hands in the earth and reading...he lived a full life.
I "very surprisingly" inherited his elaborate and extensive collections...he never married, nor had any children.....I was an only child and he & I were close but I never dreamed he would leave his collections to me..perhaps it was because I was the only one who ever took interest in it and asked questions when he came home...guess I will never know why....but anyway...Now I have the job of going through all his collections and sorting them out into categories...which is going to be a big job and very time consuming....I will be listing things often as I go through everything.
I found this unusual & beautiful effigy wrapped up inside a wooden box...I thought it was so interesting and unique..I have never seen anything like it. It's an awesome piece!
I truly, truly feel this old effigy is completely authentic and a rare artifact but I can not say I am 100% sure because I don't "personally know myself for sure"...BUT I am 100% sure that my uncle would not have anything in his home and in his collections unless it was authentic. As he was meticulous when it come to his collections which he took very serious.
Thanks so very much...
Do you have any ideal what something like this would be valed at?
ncmom
 

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If you have this piece close by, try blowing on it. Does both ends of it have a hole, or just one? I still think from the pictures you provided it looks like a clay whistle/flute.
 

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Yes it can be blown on and makes nice noices....there is a hole on each end...
so does anyone know anything about these horns or flutes?
Thanks
 

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kyphote said:
Awesome pipe! Perhaps blowing on it will summon a Mayan god. Or maybe inhaling from it will summon a Mayan god, as well. :wink:

Now that was funny. If I may suggest post in the the indian artifact section and a nice guy by the name of Joushua is very familiar with s.american effigys and clays. I may send him the link as well. He or Plehbah could give the best educated guess imo. Not knowing the provenance of item may hurt.
Welcome to t-net with a very cool what is it.
TnMountains
 

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Its call a orakina flute, probably traded from Mexico, should be clay, they came as turtles, and lizards also, you can buy them here in AZ. that is a nice older one tho.
 

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Welcome to the forum. I look forward to seeing the other items you received from your Uncle's collection. Breezie
 

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Arid-Zone-A-seeker said:
Its call a orakina flute, probably traded from Mexico, should be clay, they came as turtles, and lizards also, you can buy them here in AZ. that is a nice older one tho.

Right!

I was looking at the close (nice close pics by the way) and the only trouble I was having with it being "really" old, was how it looked to be so clean inside (for what I could see)
This much stress, wear and dirt on the outside, one would think it would also have somewhat soiled the inside a bit. Hard to say with the pics tho, even as great as they are!
 

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"...I wonder if this effigy may have come from Kentucky or Ohio since he spent a lot of time there excavating over the years"

Doubtfull considering there appears to be a lizard or alligator, not a lot of those native to that area.
 

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