Ceramic Smoking Pipe

The archaeological excavation of the "Blue China" shipwreck site yielded over a dozen mid-19th century ceramic smoking pipes in two different styles. The example featured here is unadorned save for the "TD" monogram on the back of the bowl. Pipes such as this were typically smoked for just a few weeks at a time and then discarded. Research suggests the "Blue China" samples were made from white ball clay commonly used for producing disposable ceramic goods. The majority of white ball clay pipes for export were made in England and Scotland; the biggest single exporter of pipes worldwide was McDougall of Glasgow.