Danish Estates: GoTang Sandblasted Freehand with Bamboo and Horn (2008) Tobacco Pipe

The "Gotang" isn't a specific shape, nor does it refer to any particular maker. It, instead, is the title given to each masterpiece produced from one of the most exiting projects in pipe making history: a collaboration between Tom Eltang and Kei'Ichi Gotoh.

As masters in their respective pipe making schools, both Eltang and Gotoh believe strongly in the benefits of collaboration, of two artisans pushing each other to create pieces neither would have produced individually. When Gotoh visited Tom in 2006, the two decided to do exactly that: they co-designed and co-shaped the base shapes for four pipes, beginning a project that would span 5400+ miles and months of transferring these functional works of art from Copenhagen to Tokyo and back again. Eltang and Gotoh have continued to collaborate over the years, producing Gotangs in 2008, 2011, and 2014, with this stunning Freehand being crafted in 2008.

At nearly nine inches long, this pipe's length is the first thing that strikes the eye when viewing its silhouette, reaching far into the air by virtue of the impressively vertical presence that this pipe manifests. The height here is capped with a deeply bent black vulcanite saddle stem, one which offers a comfortable smoking posture and wonderful jaw-hanging potential despite its appreciable weight, all thanks to the impeccable balance which this pipe embodies. The stem here is paired to a quintet of pale bamboo knuckles, its organic rhythm and vibrant hues pulling the eye away from the bowl, both of its ends capped with a band of black vulcanite which matches both the stem and the foot. Said foot introduces further organic styling to the composition, being a hearty piece of horn which flares out from the end of the bamboo to an angled base, resulting in an overall stature that's dynamically angular: the three piece combination of itself, bamboo, and stem sloping rearwards and standing sturdily upright.

Connected to the horn base here is a bowl that instantly brings to mind the Nautilus shape, with a curling tail that flicks upward at the fore coming to a point that's capped with a flared fitment of horn. From here, visually, the briar sweeps upward and expands into Horn-like walls that curve toward a forward-slanting rim, the bowl paired to the horn base at a slim, short shank. The overall stature of this pipe is extremely similar to the Cavalier and each of the major components which comprise the composition can be easily removed for cleaning, making for a pipe that's equally artistic and practical. Dressed in a crisp, inky sandblast, the briar here is simply appointed and showcases rippling growth rings that follow the structure of the bowl beautifully, the dark finish contrasting richly with the horn's multicolored hues and the pale tones of the bamboo. Effortlessly integrating the shaping styles of both artisans, this pipe is a testament to the pair's immense talent and their nearly a century's worth of combined pipe making experience.