A SMALL COLLECTION OF ANTIQUE SILVER
AND OBJECTS OF VERTU
sea foam pipe (meerschaum pipe)-Austria
this is a sea foam pipe with amber stem coming from Austria.The pipe is decorated with a pair of horses hand carved on a mineral (hydrous magnesium silicate) mined near the town of Eskisehir in Turkey. The magnesium silicate is one of the most porous substances existing in nature and is called meerschaum (sea-foam) in German.
The tradition of meerschaum pipe is widespread in Austria and Germany at least from XIX century, but meerschaum pipes production is still flourishing in Turkey particularly for decorative purposes. Pipes are hand carved by experienced craftsmen to represent human heads, animals and other figures, usually with a high level of workmanship. I ignore when this pipe was made, but I believe it is of recent production as it was never used for smoking (it has white color, while used piped change to brown).
The pipe is 5 1/2 in. long (cm. 14) and was bought from an Italian dealer at an Antique Market.
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This is a page of 'The What is? Silver Dictionary' of A Small Collection of Antique Silver and Objects of vertu, a 1500 pages richly illustrated website offering all you need to know about antique silver, sterling silver, silverplate, Sheffield plate, electroplate silver, silverware, flatware, tea services and tea complements, marks and hallmarks, articles, books, auction catalogs, famous silversmiths (Tiffany, Gorham, Jensen, Elkington), history, oddities ...