ARTIFACT PIECES FROM METROPOLITAN MUSEUM

The museum that is located in the New York is believed to be established mainly to deal with the library of arts. It has preserved various collections of arts and it develops and encourages fine arts studies, arts are also manufactured to be applied in practical lives and also made for advancement of knowledge to the subjects that the art has been made for.  When we compare two arts namely;” Human Effigy Pipe” and “The Hero Redhorn or Morningstar” they vary in accordance to their cultural and historical backgrounds that they were established for. In exhibitions of arts in the museum, the Human Effigy Pipe is said to be the oldest artifact that is made from wood. It is geographically based in the United States and is made of a pipestone. Its features are made from sacred tobacco and it was made mainly to represent all the historical events of the ancient times. The pipe, also referred to as a carving is made in due honor of an ancestor or a mysterious hero that is believed to have endured for many centuries.

 Unlike, the Human Effigy Pipe, the museum also has another artifact known as the “Hero Redhorn” and represents a warrior or rather a fighter who fought during the ancient times. The sculpture is geographically found in the United States and is made out of implements of stones. The pipe sculpture has hair that is braided and has earplugs that are curved and a necklace made of shells and this corresponds to the title that he represents respectively.  The formations of these objects were influenced by cultural and historical factors during the times they were made. The museum basically focuses on selection of artworks with utilization of different events and in consideration of different cultural and historical backgrounds. This encourages the exploration of the museum by various visitors and from different parts of the world.

                                   The Effigy Human Pipe

The human effigy Pipe that has been recently named after the state of Ohio’s official, basically originates from the culture known as Hopewell or Adena.  Hopewell is said to be the earliest American culture that was natively found in the river valley of Ohio. The culture is mainly used to elaborate bounds of burials, representing how systems of ceremonies occur it also represents one’s artistic styles. The Adena’s cultural people are well known for their practices of Agriculture, their works of artists and their trading programs with people from other cultures where they were supplied with various raw materials e .g. Copper and shells.  The merit of Adena is said to be a considerably influence to other succeeding’s and contemporary cultures. The core achievement of the Adena people was their best performances from their well-known artists thus, they are said to have created various pieces of personal arts.

Other than the cultural background that the Human Effigy Pipe originates from, its compositions and formations are of great significance and each of them symbolizes a specific thing in connection with the mythical hero it was made for during the ancient times. The smoking pipes that the art is made of were used for offering their spirits with smoke which was made possible by the flattened mouthpieces in the pipe.  The carving is made with tablets of stones that is grey and brown in color hence the paint in it were used in decorations and designing of their own clothes or on hides of their animals. These stone tablets were also in designing their own made tattoos. The dressing code that the Human Effigy pipe is made of, i.e. the regalia was meant for dancing ceremonies. It is therefore believed that the same outwears are still used even today by dancers and artists hence such features can still be emulated by the upcoming artists.

Regarding their domestic life, the Adena cultured people survived through gathering of grasses and nuts, cultivating goosefoots, sunflowers, squash and pumpkins as their sources of food. They also hunted ruffled grouse, turkey, trumpeter swan, black bear, elk, deer, beavers and porcupines as their other food sources. Traditionally, they are also said to have been using axes and stone tools for their population. Moreover, following their settlements, they are sparsely populated with small settlements that are made of few structures.

                                    The Hero Redhorn or Morningstar

This Mississippian cultural artifact above was made and preserved at the metropolitan museum and its geographical background is found in the United States. Its development was to represent a warrior who was mythically known as the Morningstar or the Hero Redhorn. The reason of this honor was due to the veneration of the ancestors which played a great role in the religion of the Mississippian culture. Due to the historical and archaeological evidences, the kneeling of the Hero Redhorn artifact represents the ancestral figures that are based in the temples of the Mississippi cultures. The warrior who is named after this art is widely known for his numerous participations in the network of his artistic works and the religions that are widespread throughout the culture.

The Morningstar art is made of a marine shell that is curved and this depicts humans who had participated in playing ritual games or perhaps humans who were mythical humans. The art is also made of head pots. These vessels took the sculpture of human heads and this symbolizes the artist who was skilled highly during the ancient times. Some Archeologists are however not certain whether the head pots that the art is made of represented head trophies that were awarded during the wars, or whether they are figures or ancestors. Although it is difficult to understand religion, in absence of written and verbal accounts, the religion of the Mississippi people is gleaned from iconography and art and from descriptions of Europeans.

This culture lives in societies known as chiefdoms. The chiefdoms are therefore society-based and they are ranked depending on the families that they belong to. This is because the family status varies from one to another. Those families that are of high status class are more privileged and favored in terms of ruling as opposed to the people who were just ordinary. Their chiefs are similar to their kings but the kings have more powers as they are entitled to collection of taxes and have armies that outstand from others. Their Chief’s houses have elevated settlements that are separate from houses of ordinary people. In addition to that, labour from different families is required to build their chief’s platforms and this symbolizes that a particular chief had been located in that particular homestead or just nearby.

Hero Redhorn culture relied on agricultural and fishing methods of farming. This was made possible by their fertile soils, fine climate and the well strategized river valleys of Mississippi. Most of their people depended on agriculture as their main source of food and this made their population to rise rapidly. However other people suffered health problems due to depending on a major staple food known as corns hence decreasing their populations. The large blades on stone hoes signified the overall Mississippian lives of farming.  

                                            Impacts of the Artifacts

The development of The Human Effigy Pipe and the Hero Redhorn by the Metropolitan Museum has however contributed to various impacts in the todays lives i.e. The records of the archeologists left by the people of woodlands and the territories that are adjacent reveals the continuous artistic systems and forms and concepts that are associated as back in those ancient times. These have evolved from cultures historically and have been brought subsequently to the plains by the people that are migrating. The pipes that are said to be sacred in accordance to the Human Effigy Pipe holds tobacco that is consecrated thus using it for prayers sessions. The carvings that represented mythical or ancestral figures are used as the support of beings that are supernatural in endeavors of today’s human lives. The stone tablets and effigies that are used in the formation of the Human Effigy Pipe is likely to symbolize and be associated with the fertility rituals, hunting and gathering methods that are celebrated  and are very significant in today’s lives and for the people who looks forward to being  such great heroes and be celebrated in future.

The Hero Redhorn art has also led to various impacts following its establishment. The paintings that are used in their carvings are being innovated and emulated in today’s religious, social and political ceremonies. The heroic Mississippian culture ways of grasping bows that are magical symbolizes club wars that are intriguing depictions which are stunning and remarkable. The drawings found on their carvings are also very important as it enables people understand beliefs systems as they are the earliest illustrations of the Mississippi heroic cultures. The paintings on their images and on the walls of caves are linked to narratives of mid-western and provide myths of the behavior of their warriors. In addition to that, the art is made of weaponry that is combat and this shows a critical component of a warrior who is a hero.

Significantly, the behaviors of the warrior’s protocols including taking of trophies are ordained in mythic narratives that are sacred and they extolls virtues of violence, aggressive characters among others.  The use of the weapons in development of the art, is also very critical as it enables one understand the Mississippian warfare, iconography and their beliefs systems. Display of bows and arrows also helps one in understanding the depletion periods of the Mississippian culture. The weaponry art in the cave pictures are very symbolic that helps in advancing the warriors skills and success. Innovations of technologies also change the violence and the aggressiveness way of life following the historical and cultural background of the above artifacts. The development of these collections of arts by the Metropolitan museum has also generated revenues greatly due to frequent tourists and visitors of its museum artworks.