Featured Small but perfectly formed smoking pipe?

Hi,

I found this tiny smoking pipe in an antique shop, and the dealer and I are both puzzled about what it might be. The bowl looks to be meerschaum and the stem ivory, but the extremely small size of it is what has us puzzled. The dealer's guess is that it was a woman's pipe; could this be correct?

 

The angel and size of the bowl suggest it's a "one hitter". Not that I have any experience But may be for hashish back in the day??

 

Oh, we didn't think of that!

 

My nanny had one - for tobacco. Just a puff before bed, never at any other time.

 

Thanks, Mansons2005. I think this was probably a tobacco pipe, if only because of the colour. Doesn't meerschaum turn that lovely honey brown colour because of the tar in tobacco smoke?

 

Never - how cute!!
I bet Aunt Bee had one of these hid under her dress and it didn't have tobacco in it!! LOL!!!!!

 

Some small bowl pipes were cigarette/cheroot holders, which later evolved into the straight cigarette holder you would at once recognise. THe angled bowl is typical.

 

Thanks, afantiques. So, rather than hold tobacco directly, it may have held a cigarette. Interesting!

Any guess as to the age of the pipe?

 

Closer than late 19th C I could not say. My experience with dating similar examples has come from items with hallmarked silver bands. Obviously these can be dated to a year.

An important factor is fashion. If the ladies of Paris were no longer puffing on cheroot pipes, the fashionable everywhere followed suit.
This is one reason why vanity and accessory items used by women have narrow timeframes, men's stuff takes decades to evolve because basically if it was good enough for their dad it is good enough for them.

 

Thank you for this. Late 19th Century is good enough for me! I was thinking it was about a hundred years old but I expect you're correct, and it's just a wee bit older.

 

Maybe it was Tom Thumbs!!!!!!!

 

Didn't think of that possibility, either!

 

That would be my opinion also.

 

The style looks to be the Geppetto ..top right....but only a much smaller meerschaum version....

 

Yes, you're right, that does seem to be a pretty good match for shape, even though it's about twice the size of the one in question, and the bowl is a bit more upright. Interesting!

 

closest I could find David !
It'll have to do for now........unless I see better..