Meerschaum or Ivory Pipes???

[victory]

Hi,

A few days ago on antiques fair I bought a set of pipes . I'm interested in the period of origin this items. What material can be made of these pipes and how much can be worth? thank you in advance for any help

 

[jonasclark]

Value is very subjective. They're meerschaum (hydrous magnesium silicate), and probably date to the last 10-20 years of the 19th Century. This is a set of cheroot holders, a cheroot being the style of cigar which was later eclipsed in popularity by larger cigars. The round section fits into either head to hold a cheroot, and the blank spot is probably for an attachment to hold a smaller one such as a cigarello. So you'd select a head, insert the proper holder, insert the stem, and smoke.
The heads are, in my opinion, caricatures of the then-accepted image of what a "negro" looked like, with exaggerated nose and lips and big hoop earrings. This set are probably a woman (with the wilder hair) and man.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

Interesting find! I agree with jonasclark, definitely meerschaum cheroot holders.

 

[aussievintagepipeman]

Hi- I like what you've bought very much but unfortunately you're missing one of the top bowls, it just looks like a basic wooden stem (and not amber/amberoid etc) and the faces seem a little bit rough. On the plus you got a nice case which is a big bonus. So you basically have a cased meerschaum wooden-stemmed cheroot pipe with interchangeable heads, and my guess is that on ebay something like this at the moment in that condition would probably go for $150-$300, but if you had everything with an amber stem (or 2 stems) in fantastic shape it might go $450-600+ because of the subject matter.
Note: This is just a guess and my first post so please don't shoot me

 

[jpmcwjr]

Welcome, then! Are you antipodean?

 

[oldguyoldpipes]

Value is very subjective. They're meerschaum (hydrous magnesium silicate), and probably date to the last 10-20 years of the 19th Century. This is a set of cheroot holders, a cheroot being the style of cigar which was later eclipsed in popularity by larger cigars. The round section fits into either head to hold a cheroot, and the blank spot is probably for an attachment to hold a smaller one such as a cigarello. So you'd select a head, insert the proper holder, insert the stem, and smoke.
The heads are, in my opinion, caricatures of the then-accepted image of what a "negro" looked like, with exaggerated nose and lips and big hoop earrings. This set are probably a woman (with the wilder hair) and man.

Hello, I recently posted a question about a small pipe I bought not knowing or being familiar with cheroot holders. I am at a loss to know if it is meerschaum or possibly Bakelite. I do not want to smoke it if it is Bakelite, Are you familiar with or can you suggest where I could find information to determine if it is Bakelite? I have tried the hot needle test and I say it smells chemical. I do not want to try the 409 test, but it looks like I may have to go that route. On my thread from a few days ago, I posted pictures of the cheroot holder. Thank You