Porcelain Tobacco Pipe
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1812
A porcelain tobacco pipe, the bowl finely painted with a miniature scene of the Battle of Berezina (1812) between Napoleon’s retreating army and Russian forces.
The decoration is heightened with gilding, the mount fitted with a metal rim.Material: porcelain, painting, metal.Dimensions: 13 × 3.5 cm.The pipe bowl is made in the most famous porcelain pipe form, the stummel — an oval bowl with a knob heel and a short stem, originally derived from the Gouda clay pipe. Its shape made it especially suitable for miniature painting, and from around 1780 workshops such as Meissen and the Königliche Porzellan Manufaktur in Berlin perfected the art of lifelike decoration, often based on contemporary engravings.
Painted subjects included portraits, landscapes, and historical events such as the Napoleonic Wars.Such stummel pipes were highly valued as gifts, sometimes inscribed with the names of donor and recipient, and decorated with imagery reflecting the recipient’s interests or family crest. This example, with its depiction of the Battle of Berezina, belongs to that tradition of commemorative and collectible painted porcelain pipes.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Physical characteristics
- Material (listing wording)
- porcelain, painting, metal
- Dimensions or weight (listing wording)
- 13 × 3.5 cm
Identification
- Source note
- Auction-house description published on Invaluable. Attribution and measurements are the auction house’s statements about the photographed example; independent type authentication remains research required.
- Listing object ID
- 203951246
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Independent confirmation of type attribution and auction-house statements remains research required.