Sandblasted Dublin (B) Tobacco Pipe

Max Rimensi's contrast stain for sandblasts is unlike that of any other carver, highlighting in its unique way the grain and growth rings, and is especially adroit with briar of the quality reflected in this Dublin. The rippling ring grain circles the bowl while streaks of vertical grain bisect it and offer several levels of visual contrast. Dublins are generally more structured than this piece, but Max sneers at convention and elevates the shape with soft curvature of bowl up to the rim. The transition is very low, as though tenuously connecting the bowl perched atop the diminutive shank. That shank is pencil thin and arrow straight, leading to a long, tapering mouthpiece of jet-black vulcanite. Overall just five and a half inches long, this delightful rendition maintains Italian neoclassical proportions, its bowl dominating the visual weight of the piece with its organic disposition, craggy sandblast, and willowy character.