Pipe whimsey with three bowls

Unknown

ca. 1790–1820 · Prattware (glazed earthenware) · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Pipe whimseys, also called puzzle pipes, were made by Staffordshire potters in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. They were said to have been made at the end of the day, with leftover pieces of clay. Though tobacco could be smoked from the pipes, they were primarily intended as decorative pieces of “whimsy,” objects made to stir the imagination and stimulate the mind. This is a rare and complex example with three pipe bowls.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1790–1820

Medium

Prattware (glazed earthenware)

Culture

British, Staffordshire

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Partial and Promised Gift of Frances F. Bretter and Leo D. Bretter, in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary, 2020