Smooth Natural Bulldog with Silver and Antique Whale Tooth Tobacco Pipe

Jens "Tao" Nielsen spent his early years as a sailor, and thought he would spend his life at sea, until meeting his wife and deciding to stay ashore with her. He learned pipe making from Erik Nording, but soon joined Poul Ilsted to make their Svendborg pipes. Poul was considered the preeminent artisan when it came to faceted pipes, his precise paneling and line work admired everywhere, and Tao's skills developed similarly, as seen in this Bulldog. The shank is muscular and robust, displaying profound precision in its crisp edges, and is especially remarkable along the underside of the shank, which presents panels that extend into the bowl.

Except for that paneling and for the twin beadlines circling the piece's high waistline, the bowl is rounded, with a broad, generously contoured rim that drapes down to the beadlines in an organic, almost Apple-like attitude. The accent at the end of the shank is of angled, offset, contrasting bands, harmonizing with the geometric perspective of the shank, and includes a creamy layer of antique whale tooth, along with contrasting layers of acrylic, or perhaps amberoid — it's difficult to accurately identify. A concise cumberland mouthpiece offers additional visual interest, as does the sterling silver butterfly on the forward part of the rim. It may instead be a moth, though, attracted to the flame of the tobacco that will smolder in this remarkable pipe by one of the finest craftsmen in Denmark.