About Meerschaum Cigarette Holders [Tower Pipe Exhibition]
Among the meerschaum cigarette holders, those intricately carved with full-figure representations of people and animals are particularly interesting. Those decorated with images of women in flowing dresses and elegant hairstyles were very popular. Cigarette holders in the form of human and animal heads are equally interesting and intricately carved. Among the cigarette holders on display, one depicting a man with a long beard wearing a Prussian helmet – a Pickelhaube – is a rarity. Another cigarette holder, also rare, features a beautifully crafted portrait of a bearded man wearing a sideways forage cap with a tassel. Of particular note is an Austrian hunting cigarette holder with the shape and structure of a horn. It depicts the head of a man in a hunting cap, holding a glass cigarette in his mouth. Animal heads are also interesting, as is the meticulously crafted head of a goat. Also worthy of interest is a precisely crafted bird’s claw cigarette holder – a German product popular since the mid-19th century. Sepiolite cigarette holders were easily damaged, so they were most often stored in cases tailored to their shape, lined with fabric.