A lovely carved 18th century pipe tamper, with an open lantern - carved ball and cage with further carved decoration to the cage and top.
This is decribed as being probably Welsh in The Tobacco Stoppers Book by Alastair Leslie
It has a small tapering end, which is blackened (charred)
The fact that the stopper end is approx 1/4inch gives an indication that it is an early pipe stopper, later into the 18th century they increased to 1/2inch .
It is in good condition, with a good colour and  patina.
The tapered end measures approx 0.8 cm and the square sections measure 1.2 cm square. The overall length is 7.3 cm.