Pipe bowl as bust

août 2012

This remarkable figurine of pipe clay with the bust of King Solomon is made of a pipe bowl, which is completely filled in and got a base of pipe clay. The represented is depicted as a historical figure with mustache and goatee, medium length hair and a kind of crown on the head. The bust itself shows an embodied robe and pleated collar. The object is stamped on the back with the mark of the pipe manufacturer Duméril Leurs & Cie in Saint-Omer. To give the bust more the appearance of a statuette it is covered with bronze-coloured lacquer that is covered with a transparent lacquer. This gave a pipe bowl a second use as a decorative object. The company Duméril is known to have made more figures in pipe clay, which stand out for their high quality and fine finish. The question is whether such curiosities were profitable in production at the time, but it might be the reason why we rarely come across these articles.

Amsterdam Pipe Museum APM 21.043

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