Sandblasted Oversized Horn with Bakelite Tobacco Pipe

Pete Prevost boasts an illustrious career as a pipe maker, though especially as an artisan maker, garnering acclaim through his sophisticated, often Danish-styled works rooted in the American school of design. Though Prevost has made Horn renditions in the past, his takes on the shape are quite rare, and many of them showcase a singular, compressed construction that sets them apart from more traditional Horns: with this being one such example. As with more classic iterations of the profile, this piece features a palpable fluidity and a silhouette focused on the consistent expansion of the form, the entirety of its seven-and-a-half-inch reach possessed of a flowing curvature. The transition of this pipe is nebulous, as the top line of the shape comprises a slow arc from the rim to the button that organically melds all of the pipe's components with ease, creating a large, open transitional area. The stummel is vertically compressed, orienting the shank in a squat, broad, ovoid shape that tapers gently toward a similarly tapering stem of swirling, stormy Bakelite. The stem is unique, as, rather than making a downturn, as most Horns do, it lifts slightly to create an outline immediately reminiscent of the shape's namesake headgear. Both shank and stem are lined with a pair of ridgelines through the flanks, and these ridges flow through the sides, all the way up to the rim: offering a strikingly firm feel in hand and further enhancing the look of this pipe in profile. Up front, a sweeping heel supports the bowl as it flares out expressively to a broad, plateau-crowned rim and cants forward dynamically, the rim overlooking a capacious chamber well-suited to extended smoking sessions. Dressed in a warm, contrast-rich stain, the stummel displays a crisp sandblast that unveils dense ring grain flowing down the walls of the bowl, while the underside is peppered with blasted birdseye. As a piece designated "Oversized," this piece certainly lives up to its name, with plenty of substance to its build and more than two and a half inches of height.