Description
A Cherokee pipe and tobacco bag with curvilinear beadwork, made from brain-tanned deerskin, decorated with antique beads and handmade metal cones with dyed deer hair.
Materials
Braintanned deerskin, antique beads, metal cones, deer backstrap sinew, cotton thread, deer hair.
Patrick Knowles
Cherokee Nation
About the Artist
Patrick Knowles is a traditional Cherokee artist who works in numerous mediums. He has spent his entire childhood on the Cherokee reservation in Locust Grove, Oklahoma, and has always been fascinated by Cherokee culture and art. Patrick has always had a passion for Cherokee culture; at the age of ten, he had already taught himself how to make pucker-toe moccasins and arrowheads. He draws inspiration from his natural surroundings as well as his extensive love and knowledge of Cherokee history to create a wide range of traditional Cherokee material culture, including beaded clothing and moccasins, long-stemmed calumet pipes, bear claw necklaces, painted hide robes and a variety of other items seen in everyday Cherokee life in the 18th and 19th centuries. He has made two full-length Cherokee men's outfits from the 18th and 19th centuries utilizing only period-correct technique, design and materials such as smoked brain-tanned deerskin, antique beads, actual deer sinew, hand-dyed stroud wool and a variety of other difficult-to-find materials. Patrick takes pride in using traditional materials and styles in his artwork, knowing that it is often times exactly what his Cherokee ancestors would have been doing.
