European vision of the chiboucq

May 2013

In the Turkish-speaking area, two types of pipe bowls developed that have been used indefinitely. Both listen to the name chiboucq, but there is a big difference in design. The best-known is a cup-and-saucer shape where the pipe bowl is placed on a flat saucer. This dish is missing in the chiboucq with the round bottom where the underside of the bowl is rounded off. The illustrated porcelain pipe bowl was inspired by the latter type. The design is unmistakably Turkish, including the multi-sided bowl with a serrated edge around the bowl opening. The multiple disc-shaped cuff is also typically Ottoman. What makes the pipe bowl European is, besides the porcelain as material, mainly the painting. On the outside, a repetitive ornamental pattern has been applied on the bowl and the stem in the colours brown and orange, heightened with gold leaf. The pattern is reminiscent of exotic fabrics and thereby emphasizes the exclusive oriental fashion. It is probably a French product.

Amsterdam Pipe Museum APM 21.560

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