A study of clay tobacco pipes in Tunis. Were they traded to Gozo (Malta)?

Abstract

A significant number of clay tobacco pipes in the style of the Ottoman 'chibouk' can be found in museums and private collections on the islands of Malta and Gozo. Indeed the smoking of these pipes remains a folk memory with the majority of senior citizens. It became obvious that very few of these artefacts were made locally and that the Maltese, being at the geographical centre of Mediterranean culture, might have received their importsfrom anywhere.In 19th-century Tunisia (Malta's nearest North African neighbour) three-quarters of the European population were Maltese migrants. Therefore, this study set out to discover whether Tunisia was a source of supply.In Tunis it became obvious that although clay tobacco pipes had turned up in local excavations, little attention had been paid to them and a fuller examination was welcomed. A by-product of this examination was to establish a locally made Tunis pipe, although little evidence was foundfor trade to Malta in that particular commodity.

Global Markets, Local Practice: Ottoman-period Clay Pipes and Smoking Paraphernalia from the Red Sea Shipwreck at Sadana Island, Egypt

“…In addition, two examples (S7, S8) exhibit an unusually flat angle between shank and bowl not noted in other assemblages of comparable date. A few pipes from the Agora in Athens (Robinson, 1985) share motifs with S3 and S24, a scalloped shank end on a Belmont example resembles S21, but the Sadana pipes do not reflect decorative styles seen in Tunis or Malta (Wood, 1999), Greece, Istanbul or Palestine except in the most general manner.…”

“…In this small assemblage of mid-eighteenth century Ottoman tobacco pipes, the diversity raises concerns about distribution of particular forms. Contacts and interconnections existed throughout the Ottoman Empire, the Mediterranean, and the Red Sea as studies of pipes on Malta and Tunis (Wood, 1999) indicate. Baram (2000) argued for a three-tier production typology, identifying empire-wide distribution of pipes made by specialized guilds, in Sofia, Istanbul, and Assyut; regional centers, such as in Jerusalem; and local networks centered on local potters who fashioned tobacco pipes.…”