Amusing Polichinelle

June 2003

This figural clay pipe plays with the design in an original way. A seated Jan Klaassen or Punch forms the pipe bowl, his hook nose clearly protrudes from the silhouette, much more than the two-sided stitch on his head. The depiction refers to the Polichinelle or the Jan Klaassen, who was extremely popular in France in the nineteenth century. The design of this pipe can be attributed to the French pipe manufacturer Louis Fiolet from Saint-Omer and dates back to before 1840. The original name is Polichinel vampire. Yet this pipe is not really an original design from the Fiolet factory, but a copy made by Félix Wingender from Chokier along the Meuse river in Belgium. This factory was known for copying pipe designs from other companies in order to make good impressions. This pipe, by the way, is not simply recast, but has been remodeled. For example, the stem angle and size are different from the original design. The stem stamp with the text "WINGENDER FRERES A CHOKIER" proves the Belgian maker, who sold the pipe under shape number 63. Nice about this pipe is the original painting, in which in addition to red paint and some green tufts a transparent yellow lacquer has been used which gives the pipe a cheerful appearance. Of course, such pipes were more of a curiosity than a functional article, although of course they had a possibility of use. This is also confirmed by the rubber that has been slid around the stem end which enables the smoker to hold the pipe between his teeth without signs of wear.

Amsterdam Pipe Museum APM 17.046

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