18th century Bronze Tobacco Box Depicting the City of Delft with Clay Tobacco Pipe - 178 mm

Early 18th Century Dutch Brass Tobacco Box Depicting the City of Delft with Clay Tobacco Pipe
Culture / Period: Post-Medieval, Dutch
Date / Period: Tobacco box: 17th–early 18th century; clay pipe: 17th–early 18th century
Material: Brass and clay
Dimensions: Tobacco box: 178 x 50 x 40 mm; clay pipe: 20.5 cm long
Condition: Good condition, with expected wear, minor surface marks and patina consistent with age and use. The clay pipe shows age-related wear; see images for its condition and preservation.

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Provenance information:
Object Registration ID: 97
The current owner purchased the objects from a private collector, P.G., in Reuver (the Netherlands).
The previous owner, private collector P.G. from Reuver, stated that the objects had been in his collection since an unknown date.
According to the previous owner, the objects had previously been part of a private collection in the Netherlands since the 1990s.
No further information concerning the earlier ownership history of the objects is available.

Background Information:
This lot combines two characteristic objects associated with tobacco consumption in the Dutch Republic: an elongated brass tobacco box and a long-stemmed clay tobacco pipe. During the 17th and early 18th centuries, smoking had become an established part of everyday and social life. Brass boxes provided a practical means of carrying and protecting loose tobacco, while clay pipes were inexpensive and widely used smoking implements.

The lid of the brass box is engraved with a stylised urban panorama identified as Delft, framed by decorative motifs. City views were used on Dutch tobacco boxes as expressions of urban identity and as decorative subjects connected with the prosperous towns of the Republic. The engraved architecture and landscape were executed with simple incised lines, giving the scene the distinctive character of early modern metalwork.

Such boxes belonged to an organised craft tradition. Brass sheet was shaped into the elongated body and fitted with a hinged lid before engraved decoration was applied. Clay tobacco pipes likewise formed part of a highly developed industry, particularly in the Netherlands, where specialist pipe makers produced large quantities for domestic consumption and export. Their long, narrow stems and small bowls are characteristic of early smoking culture.

Together, the box and pipe illustrate the material culture surrounding tobacco during the Dutch Golden Age and its aftermath. Tobacco, pipes and related accessories circulated through extensive commercial networks and became familiar possessions across different levels of society. This combination provides a direct and physical link to early modern daily life, when objects of this kind formed part of the personal habits and social customs of their owners.