Antrex Pipe
While ceramic pipes have been found on earlier sites, it is during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries that there was a fluorescence of the ceramic smoking pipe industry. Although most of the pipes from the Antrex are typical for mid-fourteenth century Iroquoian villages in that they have conical-shaped bowls that are plain, or decorated with fairly simple incised designs, several specimens represent more spectacular human effigy forms.
This example depicts a woman, perhaps pregnant, with her arms flexed and hands resting on her abdomen. She is straddling the stem of the pipe and may be carrying a basket. Several more stylized human heads may indicate that this time period marks the beginnings of a "blowing effigy" variety that is seen with greater frequency on late prehistoric and contact period Iroquoian sites, and which may represent the genesis of a particular style of wooden false face mask of the historic period.