Smooth Long Shank Blowfish with Boxwood (4018) Tobacco Pipe

While the work of Nanna Ivarsson, like that of her famous forebears, can often be characterized as being framed around a central, defining line, the subtle, nuanced differences between her controlled aesthetic and that of her father and grandfather really set her work apart from the fold, elevating the Danish pipemaking tradition into the modern age. With this Blowfish — as Nanna and the Ivarssons have called it — rendition, the carver opted to fashion something quite elongated and sprawling, yet likewise poised and alert in profile. She's also managed to adapt a few historically-implemented Danish cues too, executing these details in a manner all her own.

Here, Nanna's made use of the traditional teardrop shank, the likes of which lead to the aforementioned defining edge at the underside. She's opted to lend it a light touch of interruption though, tickling the profile with a gently craggy instance of plateau toward the shank's end. Said line travels all the way to the bowl's rim, though instead of the oft-seen pinched sense of shaping commonly implemented here, Nanna lent the form a stepped, elevated topography from one flank to the next, resulting in a unique, almost layered impression of asymmetry. The experience in hand is fairly unique too, and of course, the magnificent spread of flame and birdseye at play is highlighted by one of the pipemaker's marvelous contrast stains. Finished with a warm, honey-blonde boxwood mount and gently downturned saddle stem, the results are nothing short of masterful.