by Tommy Bryden, Springfield, Illinois
Volume 65, Number 4, October 2018 Central States Archaeological Journal
No class of indigenous representations of art exhibits greater diversity of form than pipes skillfully carved from stone or copper.
The Hendrix Great Pipe (Figs 1a, 1b) is an extremely rare effigy pipe of a raptor represented in an upright position. The vessel originated in the Pickwick Basin area of the Tennessee River Valley and was collected by Tom Hendrix of Florence, Alabama.
The intricately detailed depiction of a life-sized raptor with the full body composed of a well-formed head replete with rounded and deeply set eye sockets. The eyes were undoubtedly inlaid originally with river pearls or shell which contributed to its lifelike appearance. The highly defined feather details are visible from the rectangular base that clearly rested in an altar in the day when it was used during communal ceremonies. The pipe bowl emerges from the base and neck among the folded wings. This heavily patinated artifact was expertly fashioned from dark steatite and demonstrates significant mineralization and surface encrustations. The consistency of the finish makes it appear almost “concrete-like” in places. The sizable sculpture measures 10″ tall by 6 1/2″ wide and 3″ thick.
Mr. Hendrix imagined the pipe to be an “altar piece” with the rectangular base being anchored in a depression of a stone or wooden altar. Proud of his Indian heritage, Tom was a student of Native American history and recognized the significance and importance of the figure. Mr. Hendrix reluctantly sold the pipe approximately twenty-five years ago when he was raising funds to support the language project for children of the Yuchi tribe. Hendrix’s great-great-grandmother was a member of the Yuchi tribe and was forced to walk to the Oklahoma territory in the 1830’s as part of the Indian Removal Act, known as the Trail of Tears. I visited Tom in October 2016 with hopes of obtaining exact provenance of the object. Hendrix was reluctant to provide any additional information but reiterated it is from the Pickwick Basin, an area in which the Yuchi lived at the time of DeSoto’s expedition (1540) and the same general region of the Tennessee River that yielded the copper-galena complex (Webb 1939). I can only speculate that perhaps having Native American heritage, as I do, he wanted to preserve the location, if known, where the calumet originated. For years Mr. Hendrix had requested the vessel not be displayed publicly at artifact shows but gave his blessing for me to exhibit the showpiece at the 2016 Nashville event. Many collectors from Tennessee and Alabama who were familiar with the piece were pleased to view it.