19th C. Meerschaum Pipe with Figurehead-esque Female Bust 2 pound weight in an old wooden box

in an old wooden box they pack into quite nicely

6 1/8" in diameter

12" x 9" x 7/8"

and sharing of woes

Hand-painted on lacquered papier mache

19th C. Meerschaum Pipe with Figurehead-esque Female Bust 2 pound weight in an old wooden boxWhile I pass most by most, occasionally I come across on antique meerschaum pipe that I really fall in love with, and this is very much one of those. What a face! She looks to me rather like a lioness, and a bit of a sphynx too, and she's arched like the figurehead of a ship, with little cluster of flowers at the tip of the bow. My guess is earlier than later 19th c. on her, but I'm not an expert. (Meerschaum pipes were carved of the mineral