Sandblasted Pear with Brass Spigot Tobacco Pipe

Given his background as an architect and industrial designer, it's no wonder that Greek carver Chris Asteriou possesses such a masterful understanding of not just what makes a pipe beautiful but also functional. Asteriou is equally at home fashioning Anglo-French classics as he is crafting distinctive, highly sculptural smoking instruments, a testament to his creative range as well as his knowledge of pipe-making history. This Pear shape finds the Greek artisan working in a more traditional mode, but it still possesses the stunning finishing work, vibrant aesthetics, and playful character for which Asteriou is known.

The Anglo-French Pear shape is defined by its firm, slightly pointed heel and its flaring bowl, both aspects of which are captured in this rendition from Asteriou, though there is a subtle softness to this interpretation that brings to mind the Danish school of design. The walls of the bowl, for instance, possess a gradual roundness as they flare to their apex at the rim, a shaping cue that not only provides a comfortable perch for wrapping-fingers, but also accentuates the bowl's gradual upward expansion. In a similar vein, the shank-and-stem arrangement emerges from the low-set transition at a steep angle, evoking the dynamic, Checkmark-like posture of pipes produced by Pipe Dan. This upturned posture of the shank and stem in conjunction with the bowl's own forward cant results in a composition that's active and full of momentum, capturing the eye and refusing to let go. Brass adorns the stem base and shank end in a spigot-mount configuration that provides durability as well as a touch of metallic flash. It's all dressed in a crisp sandblast that draws out mesmerizing ripples of grain across the walls of the bowl.