I managed to find a thin strong piece of ribbon, which would enable me to link the two porcelain legs that I considered to be Knitting Needle Guards(KNG) and that I told you about in my last blog, and this is a picture of the result. I have included another KNG to give you a good comparison.
Not surprisingly, and you could have expected this, this week I have some more Pipe Tampers to write about.
I have chosen these four which I consider interesting as
they are each made from different materials and are all 100+ years old
defining them as antiques.
This is the smallest of the four.
I found this Tamper at a regularly visited antique fare
in 2015 at Stafford. At 1.5 inches it is small enough to pop in a waistcoat
pocket, or in a pocket on a chatelaine, and is made of bronze. Bronze legs, especially small ones, do not
photograph well, but the wrinkles can be seen styling it as a Hunters Boot. A
sturdy strapped boot, with a spur, must indicate a male leg. There is no
cross-hatching on the top, but I still consider it is a tamper, and too small
for a seal.
The dealer dated it c1850 and the majority of my tampers
are dated as from the 19th century. My oldest I wrote about back in
April 2021 and that one was dated c1750.
Number 2 is Brass. This one was a good deal(!) bought in 2010
at Derby University. Stated to originate from 1910, the tamper is quite heavy
but without any identification marks.
The foot is the left foot! The underside has been
shaped/carved with some muscular understanding. There is an attempt to create
the plantar fascia ligament in the sole, and 5 toes can just be made out!
The calf muscle area looks like a rolled over sock.. no
logic there.
From the knee to the upper leg muscle, there are attempts
to create some symmetry in the engraving (a cluster of 8 dots on the left and
on the right) and the ridge behind the knee suggests that there was a minute
gap between the two halves of the brass mould.
At the top there is a machined ring, and the leg finishes
with what looks like a very shallow bowl on top. There is no hatching. One has to conclude that maker was intent on
creating a unique styled leg, with no particular reason for some of the embellishments.
I feel this leg has had a lot of use, is tactile and over
110 years old, has been worn down in places.
Number 3, continuing upward in size, is made of Mother of Pearl (MOP). Dated early 19th century, it is very simple, but the iridescence makes it very colourful
MOP can be very hard, but it is brittle. The carver would
have to be careful, as too aggressive carving could fracture the piece. MOP is
mainly calcium carbonate, and dust can be toxic.
There is a silver cap on the top of the leg, although
there is no hallmark. It does not have any hatching, but it does have the
engraving JH in old fashioned script, obviously making it a personal treasure
for a pipe smoker who would have carried the tamper in his pocket.
Finally, No 4 and this one is made of wood, or as antique
experts call in, Treen. As I have mentioned before, I sometimes struggle with
knowing which wood is which but this time it is a very dark Fruitwood.
Once again, this was one of my earliest pipe tampers, bought at an NEC antique fair in 2011. The wood was English and carved in the early 19th century.
This is clearly a left leg, with visible toes, and all
the leg and the knee show some very good replicating of muscles. No hatching on
this one and nothing to show any personalisation.
These four tampers disclose a number of nice and contrasting aspects. I hope you enjoy them. (We are a third through the tamper collection!! With some dramatic ones to come!!)
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