Seasons' Greetings 2025

24 December 2025

This year we discovered a pipe from the rare Dutch porcelain factory Oud-Loosdrecht, which existed for only eight years, from 1774 to 1782. It is one of only two porcelain makers who ever worked in the Netherlands. No other book or museum mentions a pipe from Loosdrecht. The beetroot red color is typical of late eighteenth-century porcelain. With this unique addition to our museum collection, we wish all our readers a healthy and prosperous 2026.

Japanese kiseru for good luck

23 December 2025

Just before Christmas, an elaborately decorated Japanese pipe arrived in the mail, radiating wealth and good fortune. This is, in Japanese tradition, the meaning of the peony, the queen of flowers, so explicitly depicted on this pipe. The technique, known as takazogan, is both artistic and refined: pre-chased flowers in gold and red copper are set on a silver base. This is done in an invisible bond. We show only a detail of the rich decoration, spanning a length of over 18 cm. This pipe will be the last addition to our museum collection for the year 2025.