Origami in a tobacco pipe

July 2015

This elegant tobacco pipe is interesting for various reasons. Firstly, it is about the bowl that has the shape of a piece of Japanese paper folding. The name for that is origami. For a tobacco pipe, this design is quite remarkable and fits in with the European interest in Japanese culture in the years between 1880 and 1900. This briar wood pipe dates from that period and is therefore an early example of a briar pipe. Although an inconspicuous mark with the letters HFS is pressed in the wooden shank, it is still unknown where the pipe comes from. It is not so certain that this is a Saint-Claude product. In the early days of the briar industry there have been pipe factories in several other places that have achieved exceptional results. What makes the appearance of this pipe extra interesting is the mounting with a duck bone stem, which is so thin that the unusual elegance of the seemingly paper light pipe is emphasized once again. The mouthpiece of durable buffalo horn is attached to this bird's leg with a metal ring. Finally, the pedigree of the pipe is remarkable. The owner at the time was the well-known Amsterdam alderman Floor Wibaut. Incidentally, this was not a curio for Wibaut, but a real pipe for use. This can be deducted from the intensive traces of fire in the bowl, which has even become thin on one side due to frequent smoking. The special design certainly says something about the appearance of this alderman. After his death, his granddaughter inherited the pipe and cherished it all her life. When she passed away, the pipe entered the collection of the Amsterdam Pipe Museum.

Amsterdam Pipe Museum APM 22.045

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