Pipe Head Mocking Duke of Wellington

At the time of the Napoleonic Wars, political satire and caricatures of political and military leaders became extremely popular across Europe – often showing the elite in ridiculous situations, full of insulting or sexual references. In a time of wars and revolutions, these depictions gave ordinary soldiers and civilians a way of understanding the world and expressing their voices. Buying or making political items like this pipe gave ordinary people the feeling that they were taking a side in these momentous events.

Wellington’s craggy features and large nose are particularly exaggerated, mimicking his popular nickname of “Nosey”. The soldier’s thumbing his nose behind Wellington’s back is a traditional gesture of disrespect, known at the time as “cocking a snook” at someone.

At the time of the Battle of Waterloo, Wellington was the most famous soldier in the British Army, having fought a long and successful campaign against the French in the Spanish Peninsular. He was less well-known in France, but was still notorious enough to be the target of satire and derision, from all quarters of society. Napoleon, who had never faced the Duke of Wellington in battle before Waterloo, was inclined to insult his adversary – possibly in order to inspire confidence among the French commanders. Napoleon called Wellington “the sepoy general”, referring to the latter’s service in India, and supposedly declared that beating the Allies would be “as easy as eating breakfast” on the morning of the Battle of Waterloo.

This pipe would have had a longer wooden stem, which has rotted away. Smoking tobacco was extremely popular among soldiers, for comfort, warmth and to suppress hunger. The health risks of tobacco were not yet understood, and smoking was thought to be good for the nervous system and strengthening to the lungs. One British Captain, Robert Percival, claimed that his men stayed healthy “by drinking strong arrack [alcohol] and smoking tobacco.”