“To make his pipe a smoking manifesto against the July Monarchy, that of the last king of France”

This is indeed a pipe, but its carved bowl imitates a sort of head. A rather unattractive head, with a widely flared base, forming jowls, but pointed at the top above furrowed eyebrows. This puffy, pear-shaped face is that of Louis-Philippe ^I , brought to the throne in 1830 by the July Revolution, before being driven from power in 1848. Which makes this very ordinary pipe a smoking manifesto against the July Monarchy, that of the last king that France knew.

At the beginning of the ^19th century, men of power were the subject of a multitude of what we would today call derivative products. The pipe bowl was a popular item during this period of heightened political passions. While those nostalgic for the Empire took a few melancholic puffs on pipes bearing the image of Napoleon, two pear-shaped pipes were seized from the home of Pierre-François Meunier, author of a failed assassination attempt against the king in December 1836. They illustrate what the Republicans took a malicious pleasure in displaying in groups. For the mockery was clearly aimed at Louis-Philippe.

You have 63.76% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.