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Silver & Porcelain Smoking Pipe

This hand painted silver and porcelain pipe was sent to me because of a poor repair. The hinged cover and lower band were both mounted to the side as opposed to the back of the head. I removed the band, removed the major dents around the crushed gallery decoration, then welded the cover's hinge assembly back. The top was then remounted so the hinge was in the rear. Sterling was added to the front of the band so the reformed thumbpiece would click shut when the cover is closed. I maintained the original finish and only cleaned the pipe. Historical background for the porcelain pipe from the owner... "According to an entry in the Vielsdorf registry, October 1772 we found the design descriptions for this pipe. We can conclusively state where and when it was made. It is the only survivor, and an extreme rarity. It came to me from the Musee de la Pipe in Lausanne, Switzerland after the Museum closed down. These 18th century porcelain pipes are few and far between, very rare, and seldom seen outside Museum venues. They can he found scattered around the world in the collections of the V&A, Smithsonian, Museum De Grasse library Baroness Alice de Rothschild, and the Amsterdam Pipe Museum. I currently have the most pipes in private hands."

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