WORLD CULTURES

Object Name: PIPE
Description: Chinese metal tobacco pipe, referred to as a “horsehead pipe”(馬頭烟嘴) due to its distinctive curved end. The Chinese text on the side reads: The phrase “胡馬嘶東風” literally means “The Hu (nomadic tribe) horse(s) neigh at the east wind”, often used as a poetic image of homesickness or longing for one’s native land. The last character is very unusual and there are a number of different ideas around it. The structure of the last character goes like the character 廣 (simplified 广, pinyin guǎng, meaning broad, wide, vast) is inside of the character 囗 (pinyin wéi, meaning the enclosure with borders). This combination does not make sense in the context of the poetry. However the 囗 may just act as a border with the character inside may reflect the name/special marker of the piper maker. Another possibility is that the character on the pipe is an ancient form of this character 嚝 pronounced huang, as the wei 囗 becomes 口, so the square instead of encircles the rest of the traits is on the left hand side. If this is the case, it means 不錄 ' not copied/recorded’.
Catalogue Number: BELUM.C5887
Notes: National Museums NI

National Museums NI holds over a million objects in the collection, as well as this we manage the records and associated images for each object through a working database. The national collection has been almost 200 years in the making, and we recognise that thinking about collecting and collections has evolved over this time and continues to evolve. As a result, some of our records may contain language and views that we now consider offensive and unacceptable, for example, reflecting racist attitudes. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to reviewing and updating our records accordingly. Working with researchers, communities and academic partners we are learning more about the stories behind objects, and we are committed to sharing these with our audiences. We welcome feedback. Please email [email protected]