Clay pipe moulded in the shape of a wicker fishing basket with a herring swimming in through a hole at the base, where the bowl joins the stem.
Herring basket clay pipe
Household
Clay pipe moulded in the shape of a wicker fishing basket with a herring swimming in through a hole at the base, where the bowl joins the stem.
1. I question the identification of the ‘herring basket’. A basket for transporting herrings, in the wet fish trade was shaped like a flowerpot; the top diameter was greater than the bottom and the sides were straight, not bellied. There were bands of basket weave, top and bottom with exposed verticals and gaps in between, possibly to allow the whole of the contents to be inspected and verified.
2. I additionally question an intentional hole, not a solid base, at the bottom. This
would entirely defeat the function of the basket.
I have inspected a clay pipe bowl with a basket-weave pattern. The bowl-stem junction had three, long, strap leaves on the sides and bottom. They were distinctly
leaves, with veins and undulating margins, not fish.