Decorations in relief

The Dutch clay tobacco pipe is press moulded. By engraving the brass mould, the decoration was simply shaped with the pipe. Prestigious makers from early times on had moulds engraved to supply their customers with pipes with an attractive decoration.

Decorations were often derived from historical events: the marriage of a stadtholder or a peace treaty between two countries. In some cases the decoration is more general: the coat of arms of the town of Gouda or other Dutch cities or the representation of Mercury and Neptune as Gods of trade and sea.

The craftsmanship of the engraver determines the quality of the decoration. The most detailed and most artistic engravings date from the period 1735 to 1755, when the silversmith family Van Oye was active in Gouda. In the nineteenth century the smokers interest for these delicately decorated pipes declines, as does the ability of the engravers. In that time cruder and less artistic subjects are introduced.

A typical nineteenth century pipe shows an emblem on the bowl or an inscription, placed on a ribbon.

Pipes decorated in relief stay in production till the beginning of the twentieth century. The last examples are pipes with the arms of Friesland (Frisia) on the bowl. The artistic quality of these pipes is not to be compared with that of the mid-18th century.

 basis shape 2 with a tobacco merchant and a milkmaid in relief, Gouda, the Netherlands, 1690-1700 beautiful engraving of a fisherman smoking a pipe on an early oval bowl shape, Gouda, the Netherlands, 1735-1745
export pipe with the arms of the king of Sweden, Gouda, 1750-1760
two pipe bowls for exportation for the English and Spanish market, Gouda, the Netherlands, 1740-1750
commemorative pipe dedicated to the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, Gouda 1748-1760
coat of arms of prince Willem IV including device HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE, press mould engraved in Gouda gegraveerd, heel mark 33 crowned, Philip Hoogenboom, Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands, 1750-1770
vase shaped pipe bowl with decoration on the peace agreement of Aix-la-Chapelle, Gouda, Jacob de Vos, 1748-1755
het hoogtepunt van de reliëfpijp: de portretten van stadhouder Willem IV en zijn gemalin Anna van Hannover, Gouda, Joost Bloed, 1748-1755 de keerzijde van de kop met rond de portretten de wapens van de Zeven Provincieën, Gouda, Joost Bloed, 1748-1755
marriage pipe with the stadtholder William V and his wife Frederica Sophia Wilhelmina next to the family coat of arms, Jan Arijsz. Danens, Gouda, the Netherlands, 1767-1785
pipe bowl with the inscription of the Dutch society Tot Nut van t Algemeen, firm Gebroeders van der Want, Gouda, The Netherlands,1830-1850 spreukpijp met op een golvend lint BELLEVUE ET CONCORDIA, Gouda, Joost Fransz. Sparnaaij, 1840-1860
keerzijde van de kop, Gouda, Joost Fransz. Sparnaaij, 1840-1860
portrait in profile of stadtholder William V with text VIVAT ORANIE, Andries Kulik, Schoonhoven, Holland, 1780-1790
pijp voor de Amsterdamse sociëteit Felix Meritis, Gouda, Pieter Stomman, 1800-1830 the arms of the House Hannover on a large bowled long stemmed pipe, Hermanus Willemsz. Begeer, Gouda, the Netherlands, 1825-1850
pipe dedicated to the battle of Waterloo, the defeat of Napoleon, Gouda, 1863-1875
bowl showing Jan Onzin exploring an office for renthousing, Gouda, 1870-1880
feestpijp ter gelegenheid van het zilveren regeringsjubileum van koning Willem III, Gouda, Bartholomeus van der Maas, 1874
export pipe having the political inscription Home Rule, Gouda, 1865-1880
gelegenheidspijp met portret van koning Willem III en opschriften, Gouda, Arie van der Kleijn, 1874 de eedaflegging door konign Willem III in de Nieuwe Kerk te Amsterdam, Gouda, Arie van der Klein, 1874
billiard on the stem a creeping dog, Arie van der Kleijn Pzn., Gouda, the Netherlands, 1870-1890
woman attaqued by a tigre, covered with aubergine glaze, firm P. Goedewaagen & Sons, Gouda, the Netherlands, 1915-1925
All objects on this page are part of collections of the museum Pijpenkabinet, Amsterdam. © copyright Pijpenkabinet