An antique French hand carved briar wooden and natural material tobacco pipe. The pipe is made in a shape of a head of a bull, engraved with detailed patterns. Marked, a Made in France mark, a F. B. C. Saint Claude mark. Circa: early 20th century. Provenance: The personal collection of George Mermet, 1922, Les Bouchoux, France - 1978, New York, NY. George Mermet was born near St. Claude in the Jura mountains of France near the Swiss border. He emigrated to New York in 1938 to apprentice as a diamond cutter. He was to become an independent master diamond cutter on 47th St. The pipes were acquired from his maternal uncle, Cyril Perrier, a master pipe maker in St.Claude, while on a trip to France in 1957. St. Claude is known as the pipe capital of France. Antique and Vintage European Tobacciana Wares For Collectors.