Amsterdam Pipe Museum

Pijpenkabinet & Smokiana

In the historic ambiance of an Amsterdam canal house dating from the 17th Century, the Amsterdam Pipe Museum presents an overview of fashion and design in smoking pipes. The exhibition covers a period of 2,500 years, with exciting objects from five continents. The collection is a life time work of a serious collector who spent forty years to bring together the world's most renowned pipe collection. The opportunity of a personal tour over the main floor of the collector’s house, makes your visit an unexpected experience!

The museum shows the pipe from its origin among the American Indians about 500 BC, up to the present times. The variety ranges from the famous Gouda churchwarden, the long clay pipe, to artistic pipes carved from meerschaum and wood. The German porcelain pipe bowls with hand painted miniatures are real beauties. The French smokers are particularly renowned for the pipes they smoked: small works of art depicting the portraits of famous contemporaries that reflect the personal interest of the smoker. In this way the pipe is elevated from a simple commodity to a conversation piece.

Besides European pipes, the museum presents ethnographic smoking paraphernalia from over sixty countries. Remarkable are the Turkish water pipes, huge African ceremonial chiefs pipes, finely carved Maori pipes or precious Chinese opium pipes. Every culture has its own shapes, adapted to local smoking habits and traditions, illustrated by the museum in pipes and smokers attributes. In short, this is the place to be to experience the global smoking culture!

The museum shop in the basement is an unexpected treasury, not only for pipe smokers and collectors, but also for visitors who are looking for a unique gift or gadget. Many original smoking related articles are available: from smokers’ kitsch to fancy design. And for those looking for more profound information, there is a choice of publications, of which a dozen written by the collector of the museum himself.


Exhibitions and events

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Educational programs

pipe smoking course

Workshop

The Amsterdam Pipe Museum organises on a regular basis evenings for pipe smokers, beginners as well as advanced smokers. These evenings are meant to learn and discuss the various aspects of pipe...


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