Chinese opium pipe.

[juantotree]

Hi,

I wonder if anyone can help me decipher these character marks on this Chinese opium pipe. The 2nd image shows the marks on the base, which I presume refers to the maker. The 3rd image shows marks engraved beneath the flip up lid, any help greatly appreciated.

Martin

[dognose]

Hi Martin,

I hope my fears are misplaced, but I could not help but see a similarity in the construction of this item, and the subject of this topic:

viewtopic.php?f=38&t=24259&p=85673&hilit=SHIBAFU#p85673

Is this piece definitely silver?

Trev.

[juantotree]

Hi Trev,

No it is definitely not silver or plated. Quite heavy white metal, which unlike the item in the link you provided, it does not seem to tarnish. However I would be interested to know what the character marks mean, hopefully someone will be able to interpret them.

Martin

[Ag999]

That's actually a tobacco pipe, not for opium. But in old photos you can see that they were often smoked alongside each other. Maybe that's why they are sometimes mistaken for opium pipes.

[denmarkhill]

Picture 2:
正銀白 ZhengYinBai
Although the word "Yin" indeed means "silver", I found an article in Mandarin showing the same mark and it indicates that the material is "white copper".

Picture 3:
廣東 GuangDong (location)
協益號 XieYiHao (maker)