The patina of the ceramic chamber is now matt, with obvious wear from use. At the top of the pipe is a centre cone where the opium would be placed and a smaller adjacent hole where a thin bamboo or metal stem would have been inserted for inhaling the burning opium. The chamber would have been partially filled with water to cool the smoke before it was inhaled. This is a very original opium pipe, in fact the only one of its kind we have seen to date.
Characteristics
Height: 11cm, 4.3 in
Circumference: 33cm, 13 in
Materials: ceramic, copper
Period: 19th century
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