#852--Kentucky Mississippian "Elbow Pipe" with tiny 'feet'

The cost of shipping this 1400 era Mississippian Culture Pipe comes with the price. When I first saw the Henderson County, KY piece it had so much clay on both the interior and exterior I sort of doubt the finder even knew what he'd picked up...that "It's something, so I'll take it home". Fast forward a few decades, the small collection sold as an estate sale, this one was in the bottom of a "this and that" box of rocks--only light cleaning and cleaning out of the airflow hole--there may be more dirt that's removable (with care as these pipes were only campfire baked, the clay is NOT tempered). I hunted the same Alzey, Kentucky, area long, long ago--the older artifact hunter/ dealer who taught me so much would have kicked me in the rear if I didn't recognize a pipe--badly use-damaged, sure, but a baked clay tobacco pipe nonetheless. The base shows the 'stubby feet' some of these "Elbow pipes" are known for--it sits upright because of those feet. So that brings up a second "What do you think"--which hole was the bowl, which was the end a reed was inserted in as a stem? My first thought was that the wider diameter hole MUST be the bowl, but note how the pipe rests when it's on a tabletop--the small end is upright. The piece won't sit upright if you try reversing that arrangement. Too, there is FAR more blackening on the smaller opening's end, indicating heat. Based on that thinking, the bowl must have been made for a small 'load' of tobacco. Assuming all that makes sense, the dimensions are: 2&1/8" total length, height is appx 1&3/8", 1" width. If I need to re-state that the piece is guaranteed real, I suspect we're on different pages. I welcome payments that come in through the U.S. Mail: cash, checks, or M.O.s, but do NOT use paypal-type services--Roy A.