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Museum object · Slavery and Freedom Objects

Meerschaum pipe inspired by Richard Ansdell's Hunted Slaves with original case

1869-1889

New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America

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Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A carved sepiolite meerschaum pipe (.1a) and stem (.1b) with original case (.2) made by F. J. Kaldenberg. The carved design of the pipe features the same scene and was inspired by Richard Ansdell's painting Hunted Slaves (1861), though the faces of the figures on the pipe are ape-like caricatures. The scene depicts a woman near a tree stump at the end of the pipe who is fleeing dogs. The top of the stump is hollow for packing tobacco. The woman turns her face backward to look at a man who has an axe raised above his head in an attempt to fight off the three (3) dogs. The dogs are positioned at the end of the pipe nearest the stem. A metal cap is placed on this end of the pipe with a black rod protruding from it. The stem (.1b) fits over this rod to attach to the pipe.

Sources & collection details

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗

Source collection ↗

Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

Catalog reference: 2016.166.37.1ab-.2

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