19th C. Meerschaum Pipe with Figurehead-esque Female Bust mid-century finish vase 7 5/8" t x 4

7 5/8" t x 4 3/4" w x 4 5/16" d

) as they surround Mary and Baby Jesus in this 19th c

weird and wonderful they are as expressions of very particular sentiments and moments in time

had no formal training and

19th C. Meerschaum Pipe with Figurehead-esque Female Bust mid-century finish vase 7 5/8" t x 4While 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