Pipe BowlAfter 18633 1/4 × 3 5/8 × 5 3/8"WoodGift of Mary Sposeto in memory of her parents, Frank and Victoria Sposeto1992.23.101536092088Artist unidentifiedContainersThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain. http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster24546United StatesUnited StatesNew YorkVirginiaThree Dimensional WorksSCULPTURECivil War (patriotic)During the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, men in the field regularly decorated their powder horns with elaborate, incised designs and texts. The Civil War equivalent was carved and inscribed pipes, fashioned from wood and stone by soldiers as permanent records of their passage through the war and as a means of passing time during lulls between action and marching. The place names listed on this pipe bowl are the sites of famous Civil War engagements fought in Virginia under the leadership of George B. McClellan, United States General of the Union Army and Commander-in-Chief of the Army from 1861 to 1862. The names “H. Brooks” and “A.W. Wood” that also appear on the pipe refer to Hiram Brooks and Abraham (Abram) W. Wood, who were eighteen and nineteen when they enlisted on April 24, 1861, at Clayville, New York. They both fought in Company B of the 14th New York infantry under the command of Colonel James McQuade and were mustered out on May 24, 1863, at Utica. The 14th New York Infantry “served with the Army of the Potomac throughout its two-year existence and took part in all of the army’s engagements from First Bull Run (Manassas) through Chancellorsville.” Their infantry participated in the bloody Seven Days Battle of the Peninsula Campaign, which commenced in Mechanicsville, continued in Gaines Hill, and ended at Malvern Hill. The raised carving around the word “Yorktown” on the top of the bowl may represent the extensive earthworks fortification at that site.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Pipe Bowl," in American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 344.http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster24546http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster24546http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster2454618630 1992 23 1 SCULPTURECivil War (patriotic)During the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, men in the field regularly decorated their powder horns with elaborate, incised designs and texts. The Civil War equivalent was carved and inscribed pipes, fashioned from wood and stone by soldiers as permanent records of their passage through the war and as a means of passing time during lulls between action and marching. The place names listed on this pipe bowl are the sites of famous Civil War engagements fought in Virginia under the leadership of George B. McClellan, United States General of the Union Army and Commander-in-Chief of the Army from 1861 to 1862. The names “H. Brooks” and “A.W. Wood” that also appear on the pipe refer to Hiram Brooks and Abraham (Abram) W. Wood, who were eighteen and nineteen when they enlisted on April 24, 1861, at Clayville, New York. They both fought in Company B of the 14th New York infantry under the command of Colonel James McQuade and were mustered out on May 24, 1863, at Utica. The 14th New York Infantry “served with the Army of the Potomac throughout its two-year existence and took part in all of the army’s engagements from First Bull Run (Manassas) through Chancellorsville.” Their infantry participated in the bloody Seven Days Battle of the Peninsula Campaign, which commenced in Mechanicsville, continued in Gaines Hill, and ended at Malvern Hill. The raised carving around the word “Yorktown” on the top of the bowl may represent the extensive earthworks fortification at that site.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Pipe Bowl," in American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 344.