Lange Soldatenpfeife mit Emailbild - Pipe - Porcelain

For sale is an exceptionally well-preserved and historically highly interesting Reserve regimental ceremonial pipe (Prunkpfeife) from the time of the German Empire. It is an absolutely authentic collectible with rare personal family history and a clear connection to a Prussian elite cavalry regiment.
Historical data & details:
• Unit: 4th Squadron / 2nd Guard Uhlans Regiment (garrisoned in Berlin/Potsdam).
• Soldier’s name: Willy Rieck.
• Service years (engraved on the wooden shaft): 1902 – 1905.
• Feature (unique): The back of the pipe head bears a hand-painted, personal dedication from the soldier to his father: “Ich gratuliere lieber Vater! Zum Geburtstag für m. l. Vater. Berlin 1900.” The motif shows the son in blue Uhlan uniform and the father clinking in a tavern.
Construction & materials:
• Total length: Impressively about 145–150 cm.
• Pipe head & middle piece: Made of fine porcelain, colorfully hand-painted with regimental motifs (Uhlan on horse with lance) and gilded accents. The pipe head has an intact metal lid.
• Shaft & embellishments: Elaborately turned genuine wooden shaft with real deer horn rosettes. At the upper end there is a plastically carved horse head in a horseshoe (typical for cavalry regiments).
• Accessories: Complete flexible cloth hose with original mouthpiece and the accompanying cords.
Condition:
For its age of over 120 years, the pipe is in outstanding condition.
• The porcelain elements (head and middle piece) are completely crack-free, with no cracks or chips, and the painting is excellently preserved (the cracks suspected in the initial pictures turned out, on closer inspection, to be mere specks).
• The wood and horn parts are stable and solid.
• The flexible hose shows age-related wear and slight fraying at the upper bend, which, however, does not diminish its authenticity.
A beautiful centerpiece for collectors of Kaiserreich militaria, historic smoking accessories, or Berlin/Potsdam regional history.