| Originally
thought to be part of a modified white ball clay (kaolin) pipe stem,
this artifact is suspected to be a pipe tamper. One end is slightly
rounded, flattened and brown-stained (suggestive of burning tobacco
and packing down dottle). Second only to possessing smoke able tobacco
and a means to ignite it, a tamper facilitated the critical function
of packing or breaking up the tobacco once consumption was underway.
This hand-formed stick of tempered clay could easily have functioned
as a personal accoutrement to a smoker's pouch, or slipped tidily
into a pocket or hank. |
; void 0)
; void 0)