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THBConfederate POW Cotton Stone Folk Art Pipe Carved by Q.A. Pearson, Robertson's Regiment, Missouri State Guard
About Seller
6270 Este Ave.
Cincinnati , OH 45232
United States
With offices in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Denver, Cowan’s holds over 40 auctions each year, with annual sales exceeding $16M. We reach buyers around the globe, and take pride in our reputation for integrity, customer service and great results. A full-service house, Cowan’s Auctions specializes in Am...Read more
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About Auction
LiveFeb 21, 2017 - Feb 22, 2017
Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com
View Full Catalog (290)
- Lot Description
Confederate cotton stone, folk art pipe carved by identified POW. Based on the material used and style of carving, this was likely done by a soldier that served time at Gratiot Street Prison in St. Louis, MO.
Left side carved in slight relief with a very large Confederate "stars and bars" flying flag on a pole, with a riband below, carved in slight relief and inscribed State Rights. Just behind that is the curved shank, which is inscribed very neatly in upper and lowercase letters (incised) in two lines, almost filling the length of the shank, Made, Mch. 1st, 1862 / of Cotton Rock from Missouri. The right side of the bowl features a slightly relief carved, but very nicely semi-professionally executed large standing palmetto tree with a large double coiled snake in profile, its head upraised and pointed towards the trunk. On the right side of the tree and on the left side are two standing bales of cotton. Inscribed the full length of the right side of the shank in a similar upper/lowercase incised engraving (as on the left side), Designed and made by / Q.A. Pearson, prisoner of war. The reverse/or back side of the shank carved in very large letters (incised) in two lines, Lt. G. Wm. Hill / USA. The full front of the square bowl very elegantly carved in slight high relief and quite beautifully executed circular panel with a "stars and bars" shield in the center, with the round border surrounding it inscribed neatly in block letters, all capital letters (incised), Confederate States Of America. A large Confederate flag on an angular flagpole extends from each side of the circular panel, and a sunburst-like motif and cluster of stars is positioned between the two flags. Below the panel and the flags, a larger riband with very large incised capital letters, Jeff Davis. The underside of the bowl features a high relief carved five pointed leaf like design (palmetto leaves or palm leaves) in a sunburst/spread design with each of the seven leaves incised carved with an abbreviation of the first seven Confederate states to secede from the Union and form the Confederacy. Maximum width approx. 2.25 in.; square shaped bowl maximum height 1.5 in., dia. 1 in.
Quincy A. Pearson was born in New York but moved to Missouri by 1860. He enlisted with the Robertson's Regiment in the Missouri State Guard, Co. 3, the same regiment as fellow carver William H. Willis. Union troops captured them at Milford on February 19, 1861 and sent them to Gratiot. In early 1862, they transferred them to Alton Prison. Willis and Pearson crafted marvelous stone pipes with impressive designs and most likely worked with each other. Although Pearson's stay at Alton was relatively brief, his work left an indelible mark on smoking culture and carving tradition at Alton and Gratiot. In March of 1862, The Daily Standard, a Syracuse, New York, newspaper, included the following brief article about the pipe in the lot:
“Mr. Alfred Wilkinson, who has recently returned from a southwestern tour, as far as St. Louis, has in his possession a pipe made by one of the rebel prisoners at Alton, Illinois, which is a rare specimen of ingenuity and skill, as well as persevering industry. The material of the pipe is cotton stone, a soft stone found in the south, easily worked, and susceptible of a fine polish. The bowl of the pipe is square, and is beautifully carved. One of the sides presents the new rebel flag, and the other the Palmetto tree, with the cotton plant and rattle snake, appropriate emblems of the rebellion. The front bears the coat-of-arms of Missouri, with the usual scrolls and mottoes. It is understood that the work was executed with a pen-knife, by a young man who had no experience in carving, and regarding it in that light the work is a marvel of taste and skill” (Lea Catherine Lane, “A Marvel of Taste and Skill": Carved Pipes of the American Civil War, 2015).
There are only a handful of known examples of Pearson's work, and this is the most well documented example.
Provenance: N. Flayderman and Co., Inc.Few chips in pipe, especially near rims and corners. Some surface scratches, spotting. Wear inside bowl indicates that this was used.Condition
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