Antique Chinese Green Stone Opium Pipe. A beautiful piece of history, with a smooth jade green surface coupled with metal decorative handles, accents, and stick. 

Size (with Pipe): 4 1/4 x 3 3/4 x 8 1/2 in. 

In the 17th Century a special pipe was developed in China that vaporized opium instead of burning it, consisting of a long stem, a ceramic pipe-bowl, and a metal fitting, known as the “saddle,” through which the pipe-bowl plugs into the pipe-stem. The pipe-bowl must be detachable from the stem due to the necessity to remove the bowl and scrape its insides clean of opium ash after several pipes have been smoked, and the stems of opium pipes were usually made from bamboo for easy maneuverability. Pipe-bowls were typically a type of ceramic, such as blue and white porcelain, but were sometimes carved from more valuable materials such as jade. Due to opium eradication campaigns in the 19th and early 20th Centuries, antique opium pipes from then are now extremely rare, but the practice was once so common (and spread so far out into the Western world) that the phrase “pipe dream” (meaning something unattainable or a fanciful hope or scheme) arises from it, a metaphorical reference to the never-ending experience of chasing the opium high and always having to come down from it, resulting in either quitting the substance altogether or death from end-stage addiction. 

  • Condition:

    All items are sold AS IS. Lot and condition details are for descriptive purposes only. Sarasota Estate Auction is not responsible for errors and/or omissions of condition. The absence of a condition report does not imply that the lot is perfect or free from wear, flaws, or characteristics of age. Please bid according to your own expertise, or request any additional information and/or photographs you deem necessary.

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Brennan with The UPS Store #0089 - 941-413-5998 - [email protected]
AK with The UPS Store #2689 - 941-954-4575 - [email protected]
Steve with The UPS Store #4074 - 941-358-7022 - [email protected]
Everett with PakMail - 941-751-2070 - [email protected]

by Sarasota Estate Auction
June 14, 2026 11:00 AM EDT
522 South Pineapple Avenue
Sarasota , FL, US 34236

Sarasota Estate Auction

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $249 $25
$250 $999 $50
$1,000 $2,499 $100
$2,500 $7,499 $250
$7,500 $19,999 $500
$20,000 $49,999 $1,000
$50,000 $99,999 $2,500
$100,000 $249,999 $5,000
$250,000 $499,999 $10,000
$500,000 + $25,000