Smooth Naga with Bamboo Tobacco Pipe

We first witnessed Indonesian carver Wandi Riyadi's Naga design when he fashioned one for our Global Pipe-Making Exposition in the summer of 2024. The name Naga means "Dragon" in Bahasa, Indonesia's lingua franca, and it's an apt title for such an evocative shape. A highly artistic and sculptural piece, the Naga exemplifies Riyadi's creative approach to pipe making. Much of his portfolio gravitates toward complex and intricate shapes that push the boundaries of conventional pipe design, delightfully merging the natural beauty of briar with the handicraft of an accomplished artisan.

Carved in the shape of a dragon's head in profile, Riyadi's Naga appears more like a desktop sculpture than a traditional pipe. Pointed protrusions at the aft represent the beast's ears, matched by a single spur at the heel, and the snout extends via crisp ridgelines to the fore. Further ridgelines define the flanks and add definition and texture to the design amid the briar's natural grain patterns. From the transition, a dense and complex section of bamboo curves accordion-like into a hand-cut stem of vulcanite that Riyadi accented with pale vulcanite along the base to cohere harmoniously with the vulcanite at the end of the bamboo and to continue the bamboo's natural color palette.