Danish Estates: Lars Ivarsson Smooth Bent Bulldog with Horn (1983) Tobacco Pipe

The Ivarsson name is one that carries with it an incredible gravitas in the pipe world, calling to mind the three generations of visionary pipe makers who have given the name such import. Lars Ivarsson was the father of master artisan Nanna Ivarsson, the son of Sixten Ivarsson, who was also the father of the artisan pipe making movement, and a man who has had one of the most significant aesthetic and technical impacts in the history of the craft. While Sixten had laid the groundwork for future artisans, himself the origin source of not only a great many shapes, but the method of shaping before drilling, Lars had taken these ideas to their logical conclusions, pushing the boundaries of form while refining the techniques that his father passed down to him. Though Lars passed in 2018, his impact on the craft is still felt today.

Coming to us from 1983, this bent Bulldog represents the first Bulldog shape we've ever received from Lars, bent or otherwise. This is a special piece not only thanks to its provenance, age, and rarity, but because it comes to us alongside a nearly identical pipe from Lars' father Sixten. Despite having more than ten years separating them, the differences between these two pipes are extremely minute, as the dimensions of the bowl, shank, and chamber line up almost exactly. Both pieces benefit from a gently sinuous sense of line which offers an overall look of gracile poise that's slightly more pronounced in this particular piece, as the stem takes on a bend that's a touch deeper. Said stem is a shorter in length than in its older counterpart, though its visual weight is balanced by an expansion ring of more pronounced girth, its tapering tenon fitting to a flared horn accent. This extension of horn has been inlaid with a silvery metal ring to afford the stem a tighter fit and allow for its removal at any time, even when hot.

A wide transition gives way to a svelte, tapering shank whose slightly ovoid outline is surrounded by a quartet of ridges, lending it the diamond shape iconic to the timeless form, and these ridges continue into the horn accent before dissipating just before the domed end. The pair of lines at the flanks actually split off into two branches as they push toward the stem, fading out as the others do, but showcasing the incredible attention to detail that Lars' work embodies. The stummel's shaping from the shank end through the transition calls to mind the consistent flare of the Horn shape, before the heel's slightly more pronounced belly fills out the fore wall's lower area, coming to a high-set waist marked by a pair of crisp beadlines as it rises. This pairing stands out specifically thanks to its departure from Sixten's work, with Lars' maintaining a sharper, more firm character than the elder Ivarsson's. A tall taper to the rim completes the bowl, and the stummel's warm, auburn stain reveals some handsoem grain on either flank of the bowl's walls, with birdseye prevalent on the left.