Smooth Bulldog with Boxwood Tobacco Pipe

With tutelage from Tom Eltang, Lasse Skovgaard, Kai Neilsen, and Jens "Tao" Nielsen, Henri Sørensen has established himself among Denmark's burgeoning generation of talented young artisan pipe makers. His prior expertise as a glazier brings craftsmanship experience to his pipe making as well as an established artistic eye, and his work often draws inspiration from Danish greats.

Sørensen expresses an appreciation for the work of Poul Ilsted, and this Bulldog beautifully reflects the influence of Ilsted, as well as that of Manduela who studied under Ilsted. Renowned for his paneled designs and intricate facets, Ilsted is an icon of pipe making, and his Bulldog renditions are especially lauded. This Sørensen piece models Ilsted's and — in more ways — Manduela's design style, with a slender disposition throughout the shank and a pert bowl revealing a tall, subtle flare toward the beadlines just below the rounded rim. It makes for a sleek design that's accentuated by the shank's crisp panels, and this version is conveniently compact and lightweight — dressed in a rich, smooth finish and accented with boxwood alongside the semi-translucent, hand-cut stem of amberoid acrylic.