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wyfbane

Lifer
Apr 26, 2013
5,117
3,517
Tennessee
Hello! Sorry for the long absence. I am all retired out of military and trying to sell a house and get into college. I have a buddy who found a Tiffany Pipe. There is no stem. He bought it. He won't tell me what he paid until I hear from you guys what it is worth as a general guess. I linked two pics and there is no stem. There was a $750 price tag, but I don't believe it myself. What are you thoughts? Also, I will be online more as things start to settle down now that I've moved to Vancouver, Wa. =)
20160408_121848-600x337.jpg

20160408_121857-600x337.jpg


 

papipeguy

Lifer
Jul 31, 2010
15,778
35
Bethlehem, Pa.
It's all about provenance. That looks like a piece of folk art and as for the Tiffany stamp, well, that's been forged before. If you friend has some historic details that will make it's case.

I hate to be a negative Nellie but things don't add up for me on this piece. I hope I am very wrong. I'll be watching this thread to hear what others think.

 

mayfair70

Lifer
Sep 14, 2015
1,968
2
Weird piece.
Stylistically, it looks like the carving could be from 1920's to 50's or 60's and I can only guess North African or Middle Eastern origin. A case could just as easily be made for Caribbean Island group such as Haiti. Look for marks on the wood body and photograph them. Is that even briar?
The silver is another matter. It looks to be not well fit to the wood and thus inconsistent with anything from Tiffany&Co. I can't make out the first 3 letters and last few letters of the stamping. More clear pics of the stamping as well as profile, full back shot and where stem fits would be great. Try to find stamping inside the cap as well.
As a whole, it DOES look like a made for tourism piece. Dubious origins aside, I like it. :)

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Most unlikely that this is of Tiffany design and production. They have a narrow high-priced niche that goes back a century or so, and I think it's fair to say they don't do indigenous art, especially not rather hastily carved. I guess I'll hedge by saying anything is possible in the long history of any particular firm, but this is like showing me an odd-but-interesting basket pipe with a Dunhill stamp and asking me to believe it. If your friend paid about thirty bucks for this, I think it's about right.

 

xrundog

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 23, 2014
737
1
Ames, IA
Is that this pipe? https://www.proxibid.com/asp/LotDetail.asp?ahid=4732&aid=101835&lid=26956316&title=Tiffany-Co.-Sterling-Silver-Native-American-Pipe-Handcarved-With-Fine-Details

In my opinion, the cap looks like a possible Tiffany piece. It appears to be a nicely made piece of Sterling. The pipe does not. I think somebody found the cap, maybe from a broken Tiffany meerschaum, or by itself, and stuck it on whatever it fit.
If it had an old style stem and a fitted Tiffany case my opinion might be different.
I'd pay $100 for the cap.

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
Tiffany & Co. made some God-awful ugly shit in their day, but it was more the "gaudy, overdone, looks-at-home in an old lady's outdated parlor" kind of ugly. Looks like a cobbled-together piece of shed work to me.

 

jpberg

Lifer
Aug 30, 2011
2,904
6,540
Tim's got it. It's a no brainer that the cap is a Tiffany, and that it doesn't belong on that pipe.

 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
Weigh the silver and then figure the cost per gram for scrap silver. Add in the possibility someone has a hard on for the age of the silver and you might get a couple of hundred bucks. If you were thinking you would get a thousand bucks or so, I hate to burst your bubble.

 

xrundog

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 23, 2014
737
1
Ames, IA
I looked at the side shot at the previous link. Yeah, sorry to say there's no way the pipe matches the cap. I agree that the style looks to have African influence.

 

wyfbane

Lifer
Apr 26, 2013
5,117
3,517
Tennessee
He got it at a charity auction for an animal shelter. He just has no idea the value without stem. The cap is sterling and a lot of it.

 

wyfbane

Lifer
Apr 26, 2013
5,117
3,517
Tennessee
Hey all. Thank you! Yes that proxy bid thing was him. I feel bad for him. Lol. The wood pipe looks a lot better in person than in the pics. I will let him down as easy as I can.

 
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