Fragmenten van pijpenkoppen en pijpenstelen uit het wrak van de Oost-Indiëvaarder 't Vliegend Hart Possibly 1700 - 1735

Editor: This work presents a collection of pipe fragments retrieved from the wreckage of the Dutch East India ship 't Vliegend Hart. Created possibly between 1700 and 1735, these ceramic relics feel ghostly, remnants of lives lost at sea. What can you tell me about these fragments? Curator: Ghostly is precisely the right word. Imagine those sailors, carving out a smoke between deck swabbings or while gazing out at the vast, beckoning horizon. These aren't just objects, are they? Each chip, each hairline fracture in the ceramic whispers of stories swallowed by the sea. Consider their everyday-ness contrasting with the extraordinary event of a shipwreck – the poignancy hums, doesn't it? And the uniform colour, almost bone-like... Do you think it resembles the process of remembrance, how experiences fade? Editor: Absolutely, the monochromatic palette emphasizes the passage of time and loss. Thinking about their ubiquity, what significance did smoking pipes hold during the Dutch Golden Age? Curator: Oh, smoking! More than just a pastime; a social lubricant, a quiet rebellion! Tobacco had swept across Europe, you see, representing worldly exploration, trade… a hint of exotic indulgence. Owning and displaying a pristine white clay pipe was a quiet performance of affluence. What’s your feeling when you see them broken like this? Editor: It makes me think about how even the most common objects can hold deep stories. Curator: Precisely. Perhaps the ship acted like a time capsule, delivering glimpses of past lives into our present! Editor: Thinking about everydayness against extraordinariness is going to shift how I approach my next research paper. Curator: Me too, these fragile fragments offer so many windows into the past, it’s quite inspiring.