Pipe of the Month - September 2026
Neerlands Herstelling 1813-1863
This month we highlight a rare complete clay pipe manufactured in Gouda during the nineteenth century. The bowl combines characteristics of both the so-called 'doetel' and 'izabé types and features a forward-curving heel (spur). The bowl is richly decorated throughout. Around the upper rim runs a wavy ribbon bearing the inscription "LEVE NIERLANDS VORSTEN" ("Long Live the Princes of the Netherlands").
The left side of the bowl is decorated with the crowned coat of arms of the Netherlands and the House of Orange, featuring the rampant lion holding a sword and a bundle of arrows, enclosed within an oval wreath of foliage and oranges. Above this appears the raised inscription "NEERLANDS HERSTELLING" ("The Restoration of the Netherlands").
The right side of the bowl bears the dates "1813" and "1863", enclosed within a matching oval wreath of leaves and 'orange-apples', together with the inscription "ONDER HET HUIS VAN ORANIE NASSAU" ("Under the House of Orange-Nassau"). The stem carries the inscriptions "NEDERLAND" ("The Netherlands") and "EN ORANIE" ("And Orange"). On the mould seam at the front of the bowl is a flagstaff with tassels in relief. The stem measures approximately 12 cm in length. The entire pipe is finished with an orange-brown lacquer coating; a drip mark on the rim of the bowl reveals that the pipe was dried upside down after lacquering. The tip of the mouthpiece is finished with a yellow-gold paint.
In 1813, the troops of the French Emperor Napoleon withdrew from the Netherlands. On 17 November, the Prince of Orange crossed from his exile in England and landed at Scheveningen. He was proclaimed Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands, later becoming King William I. The fiftieth anniversary of this event was celebrated throughout the country in 1863 as the commemoration of the Restoration of Dutch Independence.
This commemorative pipe was produced between 1863 and approximately 1865–1870 by the Gouda pipe maker Bartholomeus van der Maas, who was born in 1817. Descended from a family of pipe makers, Van der Maas was active as a pipe manufacturer from about 1847 until 1880. Besides making pipes, he also worked as a wine and spirits merchant and traded in pipe clay and cheese. His death in 1880 marked the end of the business. Many of his moulds were subsequently acquired by Goedewaagen, which later continued to produce several models originally designed by Van der Maas.
References:
APM collectie nummer 7.901, hetzelfde model maar ongelakt en met op twee plaatsen gebogen steel.
