Pipe Bowl Southern Africa (Khoisan), 19th century

Pipe Bowl
Southern Africa (Khoisan), 19th century
Veined green stone
H. 5.1 cm
L. 7.6 cm
H. with base 9.8 cm

This pipe bowl, made of veined green stone, has a simple yet elegant shape, featuring a slightly flared cylindrical body and a short stem. The stone used, likely serpentine or another local metamorphic rock, is finely polished, highlighting its natural veining.

Stone pipes were traditionally used by the Khoisan people and other groups in Southern Africa for smoking tobacco or other substances with ritualistic or medicinal purposes. The choice of stone as a material gives this object great durability and symbolic value. This type of pipe could have been a personal item or a trade good within regional exchange networks.