Tomahawk" tobacco pipe; United States, possibly Eastern Woodlands, c. 1800.

Tomahawk" tobacco pipe; United States, possibly Eastern Woodlands, c. 1800.
Carved ash wood; partially gilded iron.
Features a crack in the stem and losses in the gilding.
Measurements: 57 x 3 x 3 x 3 cm; 20 x 3 x 6 cm.
This piece ingeniously combines a smoking pipe with a weapon, and was used in commercial exchanges and diplomatic agreements between European settlers and indigenous peoples.
The specimen has an iron blade. The blade is mounted on a hollowed wooden handle made of ash, a common material for its strength, elasticity and ease of being pierced in its pith with hot iron. At the back of the blade is a container for tobacco, thus completing the pipe function.
The term "tomahawk" comes from a word recorded by Captain John Smith, derived from the language of the Renape peoples, and was adopted by Europeans to name various indigenous axes without distinguishing between different languages and cultures. Over time, the term was taken up by indigenous peoples as they recognized its usefulness as a term of exchange with Europeans.
The pipe tomahawk, also called the "smoak tomahawk" by English settlers, was documented as early as the 1700s. It constituted a key item in the fur trade that dominated northeastern North America between 1650 and 1870. Although it has been suggested that these blades were mass-produced in Europe, especially England, most do not bear standard maker's marks, indicating that many were forged locally by American settlers.