Sophie von der Goltz
Head of Sale
Lot 17
A rare Dutch Delft polychrome pipe modelled as a sleigh, circa 1750
3 July 2025, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond Street£700 - £900
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Raphael Machiels
Associate Specialist
Ghislaine Howard
Sale Coordinator
A rare Dutch Delft polychrome pipe modelled as a sleigh, circa 1750
Painted in petit feu colours with fishermen, buildings and boats. The front with a chinoiserie pagoda, the back with a man wearing skates, the high scroll ends and the rim enriched with blue and reddish-brown lines, the seat painted with a cushion, 10cm high, (restored)
Footnotes
Provenance:
British American Tobacco Collection of Eighteenth-Century Tobacco Containers & Accessories (acquired in 1990)
This delftware sleigh is modelled after a typical Dutch model known as a "duwslee" (push-sleigh) or "toogslee" (go-sleigh), an example of which is in the Westfries Museum in Hoorn. It was modelled as a comfortable pleasure ride for one passenger and was propelled by a skater on the ice. They were invariably made of wood and always painted on the outside, a feature found again on the Delftware examples made for amusement. Delftware sleighs are more commonly found in blue and white and sometimes included a smaller ice-skating man pushing the sleigh. Another Delft doré example of this model in a private collection is illustrated by J. Boyazoglu/L. de Neuville, Les Faiences de Delft, 1980, dust jacket and col. pl. 25.
