A chamois horn as a pipe bowl

December 2002

For the pipe smoker, the nineteenth century is the century with the largest selection of curious smoking utensils for which there was great interest among smokers. In this way we see a wide variety of pipes in unexpected shapes and of different materials. The tobacco pipe shown here is a good example of this crave for the curious. It is a so-called Gesteck pipe, a pipe made up of individual parts according to a fixed pattern. A horn of a gems has been chosen for the pipe bowl, which is covered on the inside with a non-combustible paste. As usual, the pipe bowl was mountedwith an elegant white metal hinged cover. The rising stem of the pipe is made up of buffalo horn parts that screw into each other. Remarkable is the stem piece in the center of the pipe that is covered with chamois or mountain goat fur and ends at the top in a miniature chamois hoof. Although somewhat ridiculous and, above all, contrived, a beautiful unity has emerged with a strong relationship between nature and hunting, themes that dominate many German tobacco pipes. The pipe is also representative of the enormous buffalo horn turning industry that developed in the nineteenth century and was primarily at the service of tobacco pipe manufacturing. It was practiced in several places although much work shows an amazing unity.

Amsterdam Pipe Museum APM 16.715

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