Walter Bosse Domed House Master

A beautifully patinated bronze master for a smoking tool in the form of a dwelling, or church, with an onion domed roof.

The object is referenced in historical catalogues as a smoking tamper or extinguisher, but this unusual and rare Walter Bosse design is also highly decorative and incredibly sweet. The building, being bronze rather than brass, is likely the master from which all production of this design were cast. There is a similar example online, namely the 'Church Tower Master' in the Virtual Museum of Modern Vienna Bronze.

Although today many would be hard-pushed to guess the original intended used of this object, the brilliance of the design becomes obvious when you handle and observe it. The little house is not only tactile and aesthetically interesting but perfectly shaped for tamping down tobacco, packing a pipe bowl or extinguishing a cigar, cigarette, or ash.