Sandblasted Bent Billiard Tobacco Pipe

I've become quite a fan of Gustavo Cunha's work. The Brazilian carver embodies a certain essence of what it means to be an artisan pipemaker: taking pipe chart standards and rendering them in utterly unique, stylistic variations, using classic forms as a template for artistic creativity and expression, all imbued with expert engineering. For example, this bent Billiard is a clear nod to Dunhill's iconic "LC" design, characterized by a swooping, swan neck S-curve. The profile is simultaneously, dare I say, "retro" as well as modern, scaled back a touch in terms of proportions, lent a dose of muscularity in the shank and stem, and displaying Gustavo's streamlined aesthetic. Dressed in one of his renowned sandblasts, the finish is delightfully craggy, again nodding to the English blasts of old, yet boasting a greater degree of consistency and balance that accentuates the form's flowing nature. Paired to a glossy black vulcanite stem, the presentation is elegant and classy, with just the innermost portion of the rim delicately chamfered, polished smooth, and stained a ruby, walnut hue.