Big Bacchus Meerschaum Pipe

Hand Carved Big Bacchus Meerschaum Pipe - Very rare pipe carved in the 1970's by Ismail Ozel, also known as "The Artist" for his large creative masterpieces. The pipe bowl is a carved laughing Bacchus with a full detailed face and a wreath of grapevines with bunches of grapes. The saxophone style pipe shank is made with carved floral knurls.

We met "The Artist" in his shop in Eskisehir back in the early 1970's. He specialized in large pieces and with the current prices then very few customers could afford his pipes. At this time meerschaum was not yet popular in the U.S. Headed by Irving Korn, Royal Meerschaum Pipes commissioned him to carve large pieces to bring into the U.S. and he carved perfect pieces of museum quality. One year Mr. Korn flew him to the U.S. for an industry pipe trade show. During the show he demonstrated his carving for the attendees. The Artist was an incredible carver who unfortunately started becoming blind around 2000 and he passed away shortly thereafter. Many of his pieces are in museums around the world and also in private collections. He is recognized as one of the greatest carvers of meerschaum during the 20th century.

This is a highly collectible piece of art and an opportunity to own a part of Turkish meerschaum pipe history. The pipe is new, in beautiful condition and a showpiece quality pipe. Less than a handful of carvers would even attempt to carve a piece this large with this much detail.

Most large pieces like this were carved in the 1970’s and early 80’s when pieces of meerschaum this large were still being found deep in the mines. These sizes and quality pieces came from 150’ to 400’ down in meerschaum mines in Central Turkey. This was before the deeper meerschaum mines were being abandoned because of the cost and effort to dig so far below the surface. Many miners started digging and working in shallower mines as they were so much easier to get started and still yielded very nice pieces for regular sized Meerschaum in the most popular sized pipes. The price of raw 100% solid block meerschaum his increased over 10 fold since this pipe was carved. It is rare to find solid pieces this large without any flaws. Flaws and defects are why today's carvers do not attempt to carve any pipes this large anymore.

In the 1980's it became fashionable for certain accomplished "Master" carvers to sign their pipes. In prior years antique pipes and pipes like this one had an identifiable provenance. The fact that the pipe's custom fitted case is still with the pipe adds historic value.

This is a new pipe and it is smokable! With a bowl this big it can be packed with enough tobacco to last an hour or an entire day or two, depending upon how the pipe smoker smokes. If you decide to smoke this pipe even with its large size it will start to turn that warm brown color that meerschaum pipes are known to do. The more the pipe is smoked the richer and deeper the color will become.

This meerschaum pipe is hand-carved from 100% solid block meerschaum imported directly from central Turkey. Once carved it is soaked in beeswax so that it will color over time after being smoked. The stem is made of a special Amberoid acrylic for good looks and long lasting durability.

Every meerschaum pipe we sell is hand carved so no two pipes are exactly the same.

All dimensions are approximate.

Overall Length: 23.1"
Bowl Front to End Length: 9.6"
Saxophone Stem Length: 13.5"
Height: 8.5"
Width: 6.3"
Depth: 4.7"
Bowl Dia.: 1.3"

Guarantee: All of our pipes come with a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee.
Availability: Generally ships within 24-48 hours.
Discounts: Email info@royalmeerschaumpipes.com or call 800-567-6922 for volume discount pricing.