Royal Copenhagen

Royal Copenhagen, officially Den Kongelige Porcelænsfabrik, is a porcelain factory founded in Copenhagen on May 1, 1775, by the chemist Frantz Heinrich Müller. Known for its tableware and blue-patterned figurines, the institution's mention in pipe literature concerns a small slice of its two-and-a-half-century history: a run of porcelain pipe production that began around 1970 and lasted roughly fifteen years.

This brief venture is remembered for bringing together, in a single project, the bulk of the masters who defined Danish pipe design during those same years.

A Porcelain Experiment

Behind the decision to enter the pipe business is a story often told within the pipe community: a pair of porcelain pipes and a tobacco jar the factory prepared for King Frederik IX (1899-1972). According to the account, this gift marked the king's seventieth year, meaning it falls around 1969; and its favorable reception is said to have prompted the move to mass production. Neither the gift itself nor the king's supposed fondness for pipes has been confirmed by an independent record outside pipe literature; the story should therefore be regarded as a founding narrative.

What can be confirmed is the product itself. In 1970 a series of eight models was introduced; these were porcelain adaptations of established shapes such as the billiard, the zulu, and the bent billiard. The model that drew the most attention from the series was Golf Ball, named for its nearly spherical bowl. For the material's earlier use, see the entry porcelain pipe.