“Turkish” Tobacco Pipes: History of Study

Abstract

Introduction. The article is devoted to the history of the study of “Turkish” clay tobacco pipes. It is an actively developing direction in archaeological science. For about fifty years, “Turkish” tobacco pipes have regularly been the subject of research by scientists from various countries. However, the history of their study has not yet become a special subject of research. Methods of research. The study used methods to identify commonalities and differences between individual studies on the problem in question. All the references considered in the publication are arranged in chronological order and reflect the evolution of the researchers’ views; separate lines of research on tobacco pipes are distinguished. Analysis. From the late 1960s to the late 1980s, the foundations were laid for the study of “Turkish” tobacco pipes. The works created during this period are still the basis on which all researchers rely. The next stage in the study of the pipes was in the 1990s. At that time, the data on the dating of the pipes were clarified, special research using natural scientific methods was carried out for the first time, written sources were involved, the historical names of some types of pipes were restored, and the distinguishing features of local copies from the Turkish originals were analyzed. In the 2000’s and 2010’s, the attention of researchers turned to individual problems of studying pipes, such as stamps and ornamentation, images of smoking pipes on works of art, and analysis of written sources on the history of tobacco smoking. In addition, large monographs with detailed catalogs of “Turkish” tobacco pipes were created for the first time. Results. Many issues still remain unresolved in the available literature: only a few of the production centers have been identified, only a small portion of the masters’ marks have been read, and most of the dating covers broad periods and needs to be clarified.