660 - Chinese opium pipe, metal, probably stylised shou characters, blue enamel, probably 19th/20th c.

Chinese opium pipe, metal, probably stylised shou characters, blue enamel, probably 19th/20th c. Metal and enamel, opium pipe, China, long straight silver-coloured stem with two thickened sleeve sections, plain mouthpiece with rounded end, at the other end a small, angled cup-shaped bowl, stem and sleeves engraved over the whole length with rows of geometric characters, probably stylised shou characters, the recesses towards the mouthpiece partly filled with blue enamel, good condition commensurate with age, losses to the enamel, L. 48 cm. The character shou stands for longevity and, with fortune (fu) and prosperity (lu), is one of the three great blessings of Chinese culture. In strictly geometric stylised form, the longevity character appears as a good luck symbol on textiles, furniture, ceramics and jewellery, alone or together with bats and flowers. The technique of filling engraved recesses in metal with glass flux and firing it is called champlevé; unlike cloisonné, the cells are not formed from soldered-on wires but worked out of the metal. Since the introduction of tobacco in the late 16th century, pipes have been part of Chinese everyday culture; in the Qing period they were made of bamboo, ceramic, metal and rare woods.