Prékopa Ágnes (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 31. (Budapest, 2017)
Szabolcs KONDOROSY: Types of Smoking Pipe Widespread in the Ottoman Empire in the 17th Century in Connection with Archaeological Finds from Onetime Várad Cathedral (Budapest Museum of Applied Arts)
The Várad assemblage corresponds to what might be expected from the regional distribution of pipes in Hungary, where certain types are represented in different proportions, typical of different regions of the country.2 Interestingly, although Várad was under Ottoman occupation for only 32 years, a much shorter period than other Hungarian towns, the find includes several Ottoman types of tobacco pipe that occur elsewhere in the country and the region. This prompts the question of how pipesmoking was practised in the town prior to 1660 and what types were used. Although Römer recorded depth data for all of the pipes (much of it has since disappeared), it has little value for stratigraphical dating because of disturbance to the ground. The vast majority of the pipes are of types familiar elsewhere, and the remainder are of the standard Hungarian type, which is unlikely to have started up more than two decades before the dating of its earliest known examples—the final quarter of the 17th century. Consequently, either Turkish pipes were already in use in the Hungarian period or—if we admit dating of mass-produced goods to the mid- 17th century or even earlier—smoking was very rare then. The finds suggest that Várad, retaining its central role throughout, was not content with a passive, consumer’s role. There is evidence that it was a producer and even an active shaper of some Ottoman types.3 The original forms of these types spread from several provinces of the Ottoman Empire, on both sides of the Bosphorus, so they may be referred to as imperial types. Three types can be regarded as ‘imperial’ in this century, a label deriving from their occurrence in provinces of the Ottoman Empire in several continents, inclusion in international trade, and their distinguishing features (not restricted to similarities in head shape). These were the first supranational fashions of Turkish pipes in the 17th century. (Dutch pipes were uniform in shape right from the beginning, with little differences in form, varying almost solely in ornament, although that is useful for determining workshops and their connections.) This fashion did not mean the simple reproduction of one shape, but was more of an inspiration, a starting pattern for many different versions, all referring to their originals. Pipes of the same type and even those of different types became uniform in the 18th century, a phenomenon not confined to the Ottoman territories of the time. Analysis We must keep in mind that publications of material from the former territory of the Ottoman Empire are uneven in distribution and depth. Even where they appear in publications, assessment is hampered by highly simplified drawings, single pictures sometimes representing several examples. There are many summary publications that do not cover the whole material. In recent years, more publications have been released or become accessible, giving hope for healthy change. Imperial types Keel type Obviously, the special features of these Turkish pipes made them popular across ethnic frontiers at the time and link them together into a clearly defined group. They include the groove under the shank wreath, the raised band of text on the shank, and 8
