Antique Chinese Paktong Smoking Pipe with Filigree Peacock Design and Wooden Storage Box

Important Information

• Pricing & customs: the listed price excludes any sales tax and import costs. The buyer is responsible for the additional duties or taxes that may incur. 
• This is a vintage item, some signs of use are to be expected. Please look at the photos carefully before purchasing.

What's Included

• Antique paktong tobacco pipe with filigree peacock design
• A wooden storage box in new condition

About This Smoking Pipe

This smoking pipe was individually handcrafted by skilled silversmiths and artisans. Motifs such as peacocks and elephants were not merely decorative but carried deep cultural symbolism. Historically, it was used for smoking opium.

About Paktong 

Paktong is a historic Chinese alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc – widely known as "white copper" (from the Cantonese baak tong) for its bright, silver-like appearance. Prized for its lustrous sheen, hardness, and tarnish resistance, it was used throughout Chinese history to craft elegant household objects, decorative hardware, and smoking pipes. Despite resembling sterling silver and being sold under names like "nickel silver," it contains no actual silver.

Dating back to 4th-century China, paktong was exported to Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, where its exact composition puzzled Western metallurgists. Once scientists identified its makeup, European manufacturers began producing their own versions – known today as German silver or nickel silver. This caused the paktong to decline. 

Why the Peacock Design

In Chinese tradition, the peacock is the earthly embodiment of the mythical phoenix, symbolizing prosperity, harmony, dignity, and good fortune. Its radiant plumage made it one of the iconic motifs in classical Asian decorative art.

In Feng Shui practice, the peacock's vibrant yang energy is believed to attract fame and prosperity while warding off negative energy – making peacock-motif objects spiritually auspicious.

This Item Is Best For

• Collectors of Asian antiques 
• Folk art enthusiasts
• Collectors of smoking memorabilia building collections of antique pipe forms across cultures
• Set decorators for theater or film production looking for genuine antique smoking pipe
  

Paktong (Chinese white copper)