Elegant lady with fan
March 2006
Between 1880 and 1920 they were cut by thousands, the cigar holders with images of elegant ladies. Among gentlemen or those who pretended to be they were meant to please and impress. In a leather covered wooden case with fabric inside, they were taken to visits to demonstrate well-being and good taste, sometimes they also served as a conversation piece. This pipe shows such an elegant lady with upset hair with a large bow flanked by rose buds. The trumpet-shaped holder for the cigar is placed precisely at that location. Her bust shows a collar with blooming roses on the edge. She partially shields her face with a fan with the same rose buds on the edge. However, if you look hastily, you now think that her robe goes on in a unexpected stand-up collar that makes it a bit akward element in the depiction. Such pipes are carved in large numbers, but because the handwork and the pieces of raw meerschaum always being differed in size and shape, they show different details. These types of holders were mounted with a transparent mouthpiece made of imitation amber, presumably celluloid. The beautiful orange-like colour of the meerschaum was obtained through frequent smoking.
Amsterdam Pipe Museum APM 17.742
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