Marquette building - bronze doors

The door panels feature some very interesting carvings, like
- panther heads
- calumets
- intricate patterns
The panther heads and the calumets have been sculpted by Edward Kemeys..









Panther heads..
Sculptor: Edward Kemeys..
Kemeys is famous for the bronze lions that flank the steps of the Art Institute of Chicago.. click here..



The calumet
Sculptur: Edward Kemeys
These are located on entry door kick plates
These calumets were given to Marquette and Jolliet by the Illinois tribe.

Talking about calumets, there are some more references in the Marquette building..



Jacques Marquette visited the Illinois village accompanied by Louis Jolliet. When asked them who they were, They answered they were Illinois and in token of peace presented the pipes to smoke..
[Mosaics in the lobby, click here..]



Father Marquette displays the calumet, which the Illinois had given him, as a gesture of friendship, In vain I showed the calumet to explain that we had not come as enemies..
[Exterior bronzes, click here..]

A calumet is a Native American pipe, used for smoking tobacco...
Tobacco, being indigenous to North America, was used throughout the continent long before Columbus arrived. Pipe smoking took on a ritual and religious importance in many tribes. The crafting of pipes was equally important. The most famous Native American pipes are the long calumets or as Europeans called them, "peace pipes". These were made by attaching a wooden stem to a bowl carved from catlinite or "pipestone". Such pipes were considered sacred and smoked to seal a covenant or treaty, or to offer prayers in a religious ceremony.

For more on..
# Marquette building.. click here..
# Marquette building - the lobby.. click here..
# Marquette building - mosaics.. click here..
# Marquette buillding - mosaics-II.. click here..
# Marquette building - bronze portraits.. click here..
# Marquette building - bronze doors.. click here..
# Marquette building - exterior bronzes.. click here..