South-African wood
29 April 2017
The Xhosa tribe in South-Africa, formerly also indicated as Kaffer, has developed a special tradition in pipe making. For over two centuries they use a local wood to carve tobacco pipes in a specific shape. The standard shape is a long stem with a high cylindrical bowl, with a small heel underneath referring to the Dutch clay pipe. Since the wood is not fire-resistant, the interior of the bowl is lined with sheet metal. The mouthpiece is quite particular, made of a different wood, contrasting in colour. While the pipe can be transferred to another person, the mouthpiece is strictly personal and even of magical value. Except for the standard shapes, all kinds of geometrical pipe designs are made. For instance with a stem in a non-functional, but quite funny angle or with a circular decoration around the bowl, giving the pipe a very distinctive silhouette. Furthermore added decorations of coloured beads are popular.
PermalinkBirthday of a collection object
24 April 2017
The royal set of tressed clay pipes that adorn our museum since decades is also called the "Queens braids". Today exactly one hundred twenty years ago Princess Wilhelmina and her mother Queen-Regent Emma paid a visit to the city of Gouda. A year before the coronation of the Princess, in April 1897 mother and daughter were present at the special demonstration of his craft by the master pipe maker at Goedewaagen's pipe works. After all this time, the tressed pipes are still as new, presented in the museum in a royal gilded frame.
PermalinkPromotional film for Amsterdam Pipe Museum
22 April 2017
This week our loyal volunteer IJsbrand van Dijk finished a promotional film about our museum. A nice piece of work that features the versatile approach toward pipes of the museum. We hope that this three-minute video, that also will be shown on YouTube, will contribute to the popularity of our museum and its collections.
PermalinkNaked women back from Groningen
12 April 2017
Today the Nautical Museum in Groningen brought back our objects on loan. The most erotic pipes from our collection have been on show at the exhibition ‘Prostitution in the A-Quarter’. Porcelain pipes of naked women used to be part of this notorious neighborhood. And look at the cat that is nibbling at a phallus. From now on these images that are not for everybody’s eyes will be stored away in the dark of our reserves until a next loan request comes in.
PermalinkOur real gold
10 April 2017
During the Museumweek photos were made of visitors to the Amsterdam Pipe Museum. Each of them holding a picture frame before their favorite object. It is obvious: as many visitors, as many beloved objects. Look for the series on our Facebook page
PermalinkA special bequest
5 April 2017
Totally unexpected we received today an e-mail message saying that the Amsterdam Pipe Museum is bequeathed with a pipe collection. It's about the collection of Felix van Tienhoven, a Dutch collector who passed away. Felix had a special interest in tobacco pipes, completely or partly made out of metal. His stay in Japan for several years gave rise to this focus. The scope of his collection extended finally to pipes from all parts of the world as long as they are made in metal. We will keep you posted on the follow-up.
PermalinkObjects transferred
3 April 2017
The Amsterdam Pipe Museum, being a registered museum, got the chance to select objects from the collections of Museum Nusantara in Delft that closes down. For over a century this was the museum on the Indonesian archipelago, with a unique collection. Fifty objects, all related to smoking and betel chewing, are being transferred to our museum. Today these objects arrived in Amsterdam, packed in big boxes. Over the coming weeks they will be cleaned and registered, and eventually added to our database. This is a fine addition to our collection of the Dutch East-Indies. Illustrated is a rare hand spittoon from Karawang, West-Java. This fragile object, probably the only surviving from the nineteenth century, was already acquired in 1894 by the predecessor of the Nusantara museum.
PermalinkMuseumweek
1 April 2017
From 1 to 9 April it will be Museum-week all over Holland. The endless series of treasures preserved in the Dutch museums are advertised as ‘our real gold’. As a highlight of our collection we show this week a pipe not with gold but with mother of pearl made in a priceless craftsmanship. It is a Hungarian made wooden pipe from the 1840’s.The surface of this pipe is covered all over with tiny pieces of cut silvery shell in a fine geometric pattern, including three small coat of arms in hart shapes with miniature double headed eagles, the imperial sign. For this year this recent acquisition functions as one of our precious objects, our ‘real gold’.
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