South African serpentine Pipe

2017-07-05

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This featured pipe is a "marriage"of two worlds. The slender pipe bowl is made of a finely grained serpentine stone. The pipe bowl is shaped like a German "Ulmer KLoben", with a thin, rounded keel. The thin walled pipe bowl strongly resembles the shape and dimensions of the famous wooden Xhosa pipes. This in itself is a combination of African and European influence in a locally manufactured product.    

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This type of pipe is typically fitted with a stub-stem (see examples in the Amsterdam Pipe Museum), but this example has a thin stem section. This made it possible to fit a natural Baltic amber stem by use of a silver ferrule to the serpentine pipe bowl. This configuration is typical for pipes from Europe and the USA. This pipe is fitted with a felt lined case. It was made towards the end of the 19th century.

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Although the pipe bowl was manufactured in South Africa, the fitments indicate it was clearly intended for use by westerners. 

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This pipe measures 13.7 cm. long, measured from the tip of the mouthpiece to the furthest part of the pipe bowl. The stone pipe bowl is 5.9 cm. tall.

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Fig. 1. The complete pipe displayed in the fitted case.

Fig. 2. Detail of the serpentine pipe bowl showing the fine wood grain pattern.

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Fig. 3. Detail of the Baltic amber pipe stem.

Fig. 4. detail from the rim of the pipe bowl.

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