The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Pipe Bowl

possibly 1800s

Africa, Southern Africa, South Africa, Southern Nguni-style maker

Nephrite and metal
Overall: 5.5 cm (2 3/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2012.42
Location: 108B Southern African

Did You Know?

This object is made of nephrite, one of two different mineral species called jade; the other is jadeite.

Description

Carved from a deep green, translucent stone with a highly polished surface, this exquisite example of an extremely rare type of pipe bowl originates from the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. Like the few other known examples, this pipe bowl would have been complemented by a stem, now lost, made from wood or reed or another less durable material. It is believed that such nephrite pipe bowls were copied from stone examples introduced by 17th-century Dutch settlers in the Cape region. In southern Africa, smoking tobacco and taking snuff were and still are enjoyed as activities that establish or solidify harmonious social relationships. In addition to their practical function as smoking devices, pipes of unusual and therefore costly materials and in fancy and refined shapes and forms, like this example, served as markers of rank and status and indicated prestige and socioeconomic prominence.
  • by at least 2007–latest 2011
    David Lewin, London, United Kingdom
    2012–
    (Jacaranda LLC, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2012–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Art and Ambiguity: Perspectives on the Brenthurst Collection of Southern African Art, exhibition catalogue, 1991, Johannesburg Art Gallery.
    Klopper, Sandra and Karel Nel, The Art of Southeast Africa from the Conru Collection, Milan: 5 Continents, 2008.
    Lewin, David 2007, The Spirit of Africa: Southern Africa by Design, exhibition catalogue, 24 April- 30 September, Clayarch Gimhae Museum, Gyeongsangnam-ho, South Korea.
    Ratzel, Friedrich, The History of Mankind: (V. 2) (1896-98), Cornell University Library's Digital Collection, 2009.
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 53 no. 02, March/April 2013 Mentioned and reproduced: p. 25 archive.org
  • {{cite web|title=Pipe Bowl|url=false|author=|year=possibly 1800s|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2012.42