Unusual Pipe Help

[lurch76]

I was wondering if anyone knows a good place to get help identifying pipes. I have two that I have been trying to learn more about for a couple of years and no one has seen anything like them so I am lost. I tried a couple of the Facebook collectors pages and emailed the NASPC with no results. If anyone knows of another resource that would be great.

 

[aldecaker]

Pipedia, maybe?

 

[lurch76]

There aren't any markings on the shank or anywhere else. I don't know the country of origin or the age. They have been a mystery to everyone that I showed them to.

 

[aldecaker]

Post pics. Lots and lots of pics.

 

[lurch76]

The pics don't do them justice. The carvings go around the bowl to complete the scenes.

 

[aldecaker]

Oh my, those are interesting. Are the bands tarnished silver, and if so, do they have hallmarks?

 

[sthbkr77]

http://www.pipephil.eu/ is pretty helpful when there are makers marks. I'm not sure how helpful it will be in this case but worth a look.

 

[lurch76]

It looks like there may be some type of mark on the band but it is really hard to see. It almost just looks like a series of lines. llll Something like that.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

The carving in the bottom picture looks like it may be influenced by Japanese carvings.

 

[lurch76]

The one on the bottom has different people carved around the entire bowl. I will try to get more pics of it. The one with the lady holding the skull is just the rest of her body and hair wrapping around the bowl. I don't know if it came out good on the pic I submitted but you can see her toes resting on the top right of the skull.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I had a guy send me a carved pipe for a repair that looked a lot like these. They were very cool looking. I asked him who made them, and he told me that his dad would pick these up on while traveling. They were souvenirs of sorts, probably made in a sweatshop back in the 50's or 60's.

I'm not saying yours are, but that they look a lot like some that were.

 

[lurch76]

That could be the case with these. I bought them from a woman on Craigslist that sold them. They were her dad's and she didn't know anything about them. I only paid 5 dollars each for them so no worries about the value. I would just like to know the age and origin of them.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

It would be neat to narrow them down to ASsia, Europe, or South America.