Most pressed Meerschaum will not be carved into figure shapes.
Pressed will be in the shape of "usual" briar shapes..... Billiard, Pot, Bulldog.....
The nature of pressed Meerschaum doesn't fare well to detail carving.
As for the lack of makers marks, that is not uncommon, even for good quality work. There are a LOT of carvers in Turkey.
Not all of them get to sell on the world market and are stuck selling at small shops or stalls in the streets. This does NOT mean they are not made with quality Meerschaum. Good block is not difficult to source in Turkey or the Middle East. Pressed pipes are not made due to the lack of good block, they are made to use the shavings left from the carving in most cases.
The pressed are sold as souvenirs at street stalls for people who want the LOOK of the pipe for display purposes. In Turkey good Meerschaum pipes are not very expensive.
I have a pipe that has absolutely zero marking but is very well made and made from great Meerschaum. A friend bought it in Turkey from one of these lesser known carvers. In Turkey the competition to sell on the world market is very tough and is also very controlled. Its kind of the "buddy" system over there as to who gets to sell where. There are extremely good carvers who, due to not having the right connections, are stuck selling in markets in Turkey. From what I hear, it can get pretty nasty.
Here is kind of a related story.......
Years ago when I was in Ybor City Florida, I found an old guy on the street rolling cigars. He was near the big cigar factories and shops, but just had a chair and a small table and an old wooden box. I looked at his cigars and saw they were absolutely fantastic looking. He was selling them for a fraction of the price of the big shops, but they looked just as good or better.
I learned that he worked for 57 years in several Cuban cigar factories rolling cigars.
A year before I met him, he moved to Florida due to his wifes health. They were working on becoming citizens. For cash he rolled cigars all day to sell to tourists. But, I noticed a LOT of locals buying his sticks.
He would not tell me where he got his tobacco, he just said a "friend".
I bought 5 big Pyramid cigars from him for $20.....that would have cost $100 or more in any shop.....they were stunning. They did not have labels or even a name. His name was Joe.....he said the cigars were called Joes cigars.
Every cigar was delicious, oily, perfectly rolled and smoked like a dream.
None of the local factories would hire him because the shops were full of family and family of family rollers. A couple years later I went back there and there he was! I bought 20 cigars from him for $75....all huge Pyramids.
About five years later I went back, no Joe. People said he just disappeared.
The point is, those pipes COULD be good/great quality pipes imported by a small shop or just brough from Turkey. The lack of a makers mark doesn't necessarily mean much. There are a LOT of pipes of lesser quality than the " no name" one I have being sold for hundreds of dollars online.
Sorry for the long post.
Pressed will be in the shape of "usual" briar shapes..... Billiard, Pot, Bulldog.....
The nature of pressed Meerschaum doesn't fare well to detail carving.
As for the lack of makers marks, that is not uncommon, even for good quality work. There are a LOT of carvers in Turkey.
Not all of them get to sell on the world market and are stuck selling at small shops or stalls in the streets. This does NOT mean they are not made with quality Meerschaum. Good block is not difficult to source in Turkey or the Middle East. Pressed pipes are not made due to the lack of good block, they are made to use the shavings left from the carving in most cases.
The pressed are sold as souvenirs at street stalls for people who want the LOOK of the pipe for display purposes. In Turkey good Meerschaum pipes are not very expensive.
I have a pipe that has absolutely zero marking but is very well made and made from great Meerschaum. A friend bought it in Turkey from one of these lesser known carvers. In Turkey the competition to sell on the world market is very tough and is also very controlled. Its kind of the "buddy" system over there as to who gets to sell where. There are extremely good carvers who, due to not having the right connections, are stuck selling in markets in Turkey. From what I hear, it can get pretty nasty.
Here is kind of a related story.......
Years ago when I was in Ybor City Florida, I found an old guy on the street rolling cigars. He was near the big cigar factories and shops, but just had a chair and a small table and an old wooden box. I looked at his cigars and saw they were absolutely fantastic looking. He was selling them for a fraction of the price of the big shops, but they looked just as good or better.
I learned that he worked for 57 years in several Cuban cigar factories rolling cigars.
A year before I met him, he moved to Florida due to his wifes health. They were working on becoming citizens. For cash he rolled cigars all day to sell to tourists. But, I noticed a LOT of locals buying his sticks.
He would not tell me where he got his tobacco, he just said a "friend".
I bought 5 big Pyramid cigars from him for $20.....that would have cost $100 or more in any shop.....they were stunning. They did not have labels or even a name. His name was Joe.....he said the cigars were called Joes cigars.
Every cigar was delicious, oily, perfectly rolled and smoked like a dream.
None of the local factories would hire him because the shops were full of family and family of family rollers. A couple years later I went back there and there he was! I bought 20 cigars from him for $75....all huge Pyramids.
About five years later I went back, no Joe. People said he just disappeared.
The point is, those pipes COULD be good/great quality pipes imported by a small shop or just brough from Turkey. The lack of a makers mark doesn't necessarily mean much. There are a LOT of pipes of lesser quality than the " no name" one I have being sold for hundreds of dollars online.
Sorry for the long post.
