The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 9, 2026

A wood tobacco pipe with a smooth, dark reddish-brown shaft connects two ornate iron sections. Intricate dragon carvings in high relief coil around the metal, accented with gold-colored highlights. At one end, a small bowl curves upward from a dragon's jaws. The opposite side tapers into a long, slender mouthpiece where another dragon winds toward the tip. Finely etched scales and golden flames texture the dark, weathered metal.

Tobacco Pipe

early to mid-1800s

Japan, Edo period

(1615–1868)
wood, iron, and silver
Overall: 26.6 cm (10 1/2 in.)
Gift of Laurence H. Norton, Robert C. Norton, and Miriam Norton White in memory of Mr. and Mrs. D. Z. Norton 1939.301
Location: Not on view
  • ?–1939
    Laurence H. Norton [1888–1960], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1939–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Hollis, Howard. "Norton Gift." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 26, no. 10 (December 1939): 158–159. Mentioned: p. 159 www.jstor.org
  • {{cite web|title=Tobacco Pipe|url=false|author=|year=early to mid-1800s|access-date=09 June 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1939.301