A CASED MEERSCHAUM PIPE WITH THE HEAD OF NASIR AL-DIN SHAH OF PERSIA
Possibly Ottoman Turkey or Vienna, Austria, end of the 19th century

Made of sepiolite and carved to resemble the Qajar ruler, Nasir al-Din Shah's head, wearing a tall cylindrical Astrakhan fur kaj kolah hat enhanced with a frontal aigrette, with a screwed-in amber mouthpiece, in a brown leather case lined in burgundy silk velvet, 14.3cm long excluding the case.

Meerschaum pipes embody the flourishing mercantile and artistic exchanges occurring between the Ottoman Empire and the West throughout the 19th century. The material they are made of, called sepiolite or Meerschaum in German (sea foam), was often found floating in the Black Sea, where it was fished by Turkish fishermen. Dried and roughly carved Turkish Meerschaum products would then enter the mercantile routes towards Europe and often end in manufacturing centres of renowned fame, such as Vienna.