A bizarre Blackmoor

15 October 2013

The illustrated pipe has been added to the collection of the Amsterdam Pipe Museum earlier this month. It is a large advertising pipe or ‘pipe d’étalage’ with a height of over 20 centimeter made by Félix Wingender pipe works in Chokier near Liège. Next to the extreme size it is a rarity because this piece is the one and only example known, both in collections and in literature. The curator knew this pipe for over thirty years in a private collection, and finally we were able to acquire this rare object.

Despite its rarity this advertising pipe is not the most beautiful one and certainly not the most artistic. Both the modeling and painting are quite course in to bright colors. We found out that the shaping of this pipe is different from what was initially intended. For several years our museum documentation has already hold the original designs for this particular pipe. The designs, both full face and silhouette, show that the pipe was meant to be more refined. It is quite a chance that the drawings and the actual pipe did come together after so many years.

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