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LOT 1069
Catlinite Pipe Attributed to Chief Two Guns White Calf Accompanied by Portraits of the Chief - This classic Catlinite/red pipestone pipe from the John Fox Collection was attributed as owned by Piegan Blackfoot
chief John Two Guns White Calf (1872-1934) of Montana. He is sometimes erroneously called the “last Chief of the Piegan Blackfoot.” He became nationally known for his work promoting Glacier National Park for the Great Northern Railway. By the 1930s, he was claiming to have been the model for the Native American profile on the Buffalo nickel and was widely reported to have been the inspiration. The artist responsible for the design,
James Earle Fraser, indicated he based it on Native American portraits he had done, including of Iron Tail, Two Moons, and others, rather than Two Guns White Calf. Nonetheless, he is still often credited as the inspiration. The pipe measures 19 inches in length and has a pipestone bowl and stem with wood mouth piece. The plains style “T” bowl has a pewter band. Included with the pipe are three portraits of Two Guns White Calf. Two of them are the same profile portraits by Tomar Jacob Hileman (1882-1945) (both signed “Hileman 27” and marked with pictographs for Two Guns White Calf) who operated in Montana as the Great Northern Railway’s official photographer. The third is a full-length, forward facing portrait
marked “Two Guns White Calf” on the back. The pipe and portraits are contained in a class top display case.
CONDITION: Fine overall. The pipe has attractive red tones, mild scratches and wear, and some adhesive on the wood joining the bowl to the stem. The portraits have distinct images and general mild age and storage related wear, including some chipping on the frames and
some stains and residue.
Provenance: The John Fox Collection.
Estimate: 1,200 - 1,800