Smooth Mushroom with Ivorite (Lion) Tobacco Pipe

The work of Danish artisan Lasse Skovgaard is often marked by fluid grace and sleek curvature imbued with an eclectic and arresting sense of whimsy. Nowhere is this style better showcased than across Skovgaard's signature takes on the Mushroom shape, which are often rendered in remarkably robust proportions with ample thickness through the bowl and a baroque arrangement of unique shaping elements. Here, the transition is wide, with plenty of room to drape a digit, and it gives way to a curling, lifting shank that cinches near the middle before flaring out to its end and meeting the stem. Said stem is a sleek and lengthy taper of black vulcanite that takes on a smart downturn at the bit for comfortable smoking, its base comprising a bold and dramatic flare of Ivorite that's pointed at the lower flanks. These points mark the start of a wrapping pair of ridgelines that curl through the shank and lift into the walls of the bowl, manifesting a uniquely organic look at the fore of this piece.

The bowl stands on a muscular, sweeping heel and grows thick walls that rise to a broad rim, the ridge across the left side curving very slightly into the lower portion of the walls. On the right side, the second ridge pushes out from the flanks of the stummel as it curves toward the bowl, and it lifts extremely quickly near the transition, extending out of the briar even more before it rises to the rim and forms a point. There's some significant hollow carving at this point near the fore side, emphasizing the ridge's presence and further dramatizing its impact while simultaneously lending the bowl more structure. The rim here acts as the visual center of this piece, as it expands and flares out into an extremely broad, asymmetrical crown that calls to mind more flamboyant examples of this pipe's namesake fungus. This crown features a thin, fine, undulating edge that overhangs the walls a good bit, and its impressive asymmetry highlights the stummel's own, almost total, asymmetry. This is one of the few pipes we've received from Skovgaard to have earned his Lion grade, the mark defining those pipes that are his finest work and which showcase the best grain. Here, stunning grain is showcased beneath a deep, chestnut-tinged smooth finish, with flame flickering up through the walls of the bowl, while the rim is covered in a dense sea of birdseye: the tones of the briar richly contrasted by the pale white hue of the broad Ivorite accent.