New (To Me) Antique Meerschaum: Any Idea Who It Might Depict?

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briarbuck

Lifer
Nov 24, 2015
2,287
5,492
Ric has one of mine right now. It's an pre 1900 piece by Heiss and Sohne that had a broken non-original stem when I purchased. I'm looking forward to seeing it when it's finished.

 

alialansari

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 2, 2015
120
57
Hidd, Bahrain.
As far as looks are purely concerned, I would imagine this pipe having been carved as a tribute to someone like Joachim du Bellay or any other remarkable figure of the sixteenth century.

 

madox07

Lifer
Dec 12, 2016
1,823
1,689
Judging by the figure's head gear I would say it represents a 16th century german nobleman. The work is so much better than any "Turk Head" I have seen before. The coloring ... I was about to congratulate you on that, as it takes such a quality meer to be able to get that coloring, but since it is not authentic ... well a pity. Nice piece no the less. I am curios of your impression upon smoking.

 

jonasclark

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 4, 2013
738
384
Seattle
Thanks. This artificial coloring job was extremely common on late-1800s meerschaums, including many really high-quality ones. Your suggestion that it might be a 16th Century German nobleman turned out, I think, to be spot-on; the hat matches exactly to a type of beret, popular in that time period, termed a "landsknecht," also called a "starfish" beret, which is floppy like a tam o'shanter, but has the 'vents' around the edge. Now, if I could only figure out who, unless it IS just 'in the style of,' which is possible.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
On the matter of identifying the subject of this Meerschaum figural, I'd guess as with paintings, some were actual portraits or representations of historical figures or figures from theatrical plays. But as with paintings, there were also portraits that more represented a class, nationality, and even citizens of a particular region or city that were composites, not specific individuals. My guess is that this is one of those.

 

jonasclark

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 4, 2013
738
384
Seattle
The results:
mmd3l2p.jpg

The tortoiseshell lucite doesn't really approximate amber, but I really love it. Top-notch workmanship. A few days before these came back, I had a thought: wouldn't it be nice if the small pipe had a longer stem? The original was very short. To my surprise, that's exactly what Ric did.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,568
27,070
Carmel Valley, CA
Brilliant! The stems "fit" the pipe's shapes perfectly, and not referring to just the tenon-mortise junction!
Nice photo, too.

 

jonasclark

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 4, 2013
738
384
Seattle
The smaller pipe's stem, as recommended, is cemented in place, though the pipe is smokable (I won't be smoking it). The claw was drilled out and threaded, with a new push-pull inserted.

 

elasmo

Can't Leave
Mar 23, 2019
328
790
New stem looks great. My guess would be that it's supposed to be Marco Polo.
k3j3l5k5j3lk3j.png


 

tulsagentleman

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 7, 2019
206
39
I have several meerschaums, two cheapos and one rather nice one. The figure would be Bacchus I believe. I talked my first wife into buying this for me for my birthday one time. Probably the reason we aren't together anymore. I still have the pipe.

BpTQJuh.jpg


DgoeS68.jpg


 
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