XHOSA PIPE IN THE FORM OF A HORSE
19TH CENTURY, SOUTH AFRICA
Estimate: £1,000 - £1,500
Auction: 13 March 2025 from 13:00 GMT
Description
carved wood, the long stem terminating in a bowl in the form of a horse
Dimensions
74.5cm long
Provenance
Wills Cigarette and Tobacco Company Pipe Collection, England (ref 1232)
Galerie Valluet, Paris
Bernice & Terry Pethica Collection
Published:
Klopper, Nettleton and Pethica, The Art of Southern Africa, The Terence Pethica Collection 2007, n° 104
Footnote
“This elegantly proportioned horse, which doubles as a pipe bowl, is characterised by a lively sense of animation. The carver of this pipe, who was clearly attentive to the way sculptural forms can be manipulated to impart a feeling of vitality, established a subtle echo between the arc of the horse's neck and its slightly raised tail. Since the pipe is awkward to hold, the patron who bought it presumably did so because he was attracted to this sense of vitality in the treatment of the form.”
(Klopper, Nettleton and Pethica 2007).