Pipes à tabac en céramique
La pipe en terre est un produit de masse typique connu par des millions de fumeurs. Cependant, les pipes en terre autres que celles en argile sont assez rares. Elles étaient le sous-produit des usines de céramique et, dans certains cas seulement, elles étaient fabriquées par des pipiers spécialisés. L'utilisation de différentes argiles et de différents types d’émail explique la grande diversité de ce groupe.
Les pipes à tabac enroulées en céramique dite Pratt ware de Stafford, en Angleterre, attirent tous les regards. Les tuyaux extrêmement longs se tordent comme des serpents. Elles sont peintes avec des touffes d’émail colorée. À l'époque, il s'agissait d'objets-cadeaux très prisés qui finissaient généralement dans une vitrine. Mais on les fumait aussi ! Les pipes courtes avec de magnifiques figures de caractère n'ont pas d’email mais une finition en peinture multicolore ; elles étaient fabriquées en Écosse.
Certaines usines allemandes se sont concentrées sur les pipes en céramique recouvertes d'une peinture monochrome. Ces pipes étaient connues sous le nom mystérieux de sidérolithes. Il s'agissait d'articles de luxe, souvent magnifiquement montés avec des bords et des couvercles plaqués or. Elles attiraient beaucoup de fumeurs de l'époque.
C'est à Gouda qu'est apparue la pipe mystérieuse, une pipe constituée de la terre extrêmement poreux et d'émail transparente. Elles sont devenues célèbres parce qu'il y a une image blanche sous l'émail qui devient visible lorsque l'on fume la pipe et que, par conséquent, la pipe elle-même en absorbant le goudron devient sombre. La fabrique la plus célèbre de ces pipes mystérieuses est Zenith à Gouda, fondée en 1749, une fabrique traditionnelle de pipes qui n'a commencé à produire des céramiques qu'après 1900.
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