Measuring 8 inches long, 6 3/4 inches tall and 2 4/5 inches wide, made from a single piece of meerschaum, carved into the bust of a Prussian soldier, wearing a button-up high collar uniform jacket with scroll accented sides and a pickelhaub-style helmet with a transparent orange glass spike and the bowl cut into the area where the crest would be on the eagle. The soldier is looking off to the left and laughing, and also showing a well developed beard and a large number of wrinkles, which continue across the back of the helmet and underside of the main body to form a map of Northeastern France, including the cities of Strasburg, Verdun, Le Mans and Paris. The underside is also inscribed "1870/ 71.", the period of the Franco-Prussian war, which saw battle at many of the cities mapped on the pipe (perhaps the personal campaign map of the individual for whom this pipe was made), resulting in the destruction of Napoleon III's Second Empire and the unification of Germany. The rear section of the body is flared and rounded, with a silver band decorated with raised floral engraving and accented with turquoise. The stem and bit are constructed from horn, and connected by a 12 inch long woven wire tube, with ebony accents on the bit.

Very good. The overall coloration ranges from bone white to burnt orange color on the exterior, turning dark black around the bowl. A pair of small holes are present behind the bust, with some filler material on the underside. A dark patina is showing on the silver, with two of the turquoise pieces absent. The stem and bit are excellent, with minimal cracks in the horn and one or two loose wires. An excellent meerschaum pipe with interesting historical associations.