18th Dutch Fruit Wood Clay Pipe Carved Case With Copper Fixtures.

Smoking leaf tobacco in clay pipes became established in allparts of Europe during the course of the 17th century, following itsintroduction from Mexico by Francesco Fernandez in 1558. The fragile clay pipesused to smoke tobacco were initially quite expensive, and were sometimes highlydecorated, so protective wooden pipe cases were developed to contain them. TheNetherlands was closely connected with the pastime of pipe-smoking. Cities, such as Gouda, developed a reputation for producin...g high-quality clay pipeswhich were sold around Europe.  Description : Pipe case of turned fruitwood with brass fixtures. The caseconsists of a compartment for the pipe bowl, which can be opened, allowing thepipe to be inserted; a stem section and a ventilation hole at the concentricallygrooved brass mouthpiece end. There is a  brass bandin the middle of the stem section, wrapped around the circumference of thestem. This band separates a spiral-turned section from the previous carved section with insertedbrass wire.The bowl compartment is adorned with a pierced and engravedbrass mount in the shape of a heart in the middle, which is enhanced withfurther engraving in the wood. The lid closes well and the hinges are in goodcondition apart from some verdigree which might indicated it is made of Bronzeand not brass. The inside of the lid carries an inscription, but I cannotdecipher it. Dimensions Total length: 26 cm Length of bowl outside:approx. 9 cm  Width of bowl: 3 cm

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