Danish Estates: Jess Chonowitsch Smooth Horn Tobacco Pipe

Jess Chonowitsch has had one of the most illustrious careers in the history of pipe making, not only coming from a famous father in Emil Chonowitsch, but beginning his career under the tutelage of Poul Rasmussen, for whom he repaired pipes. Chonowitsch moved on to become a carver at the W.Ø. Larsen factory after Rasmussen's death before then finding himself in the workshop of none other than Sixten Ivarsson, arguably the father of modern Danish design. After two years with Sixten, where Chonowitsch learned the importance of mouthpiece design and fit and finish, he began making pipes in a small workshop together with his father. Today Jess has been carving pipes for over 50 years, and each example that he crafts is a testament to the experience and knowledge he has gained in that time, his work almost universally lauded as some of the best in the pipe world.

This Horn is a good bit different from other interpretations of the shape that we've seen from the artisan, not just in its shaping but in its relative dimensions, with this piece being rather compact and slender throughout. While it maintains the sinuousness of the Horn shape, with easy curvature possessing every element of its build, it takes on a far more conservative expansion from button to rim. This expansion remains continuous throughout, though it accelerates at the transition and sees the bowl flare comparatively strikingly as it reaches upward, the walls sitting atop a sweeping heel that urges the bowl forward dynamically. I think what strikes me most about this piece is the way that it maintains the classic conventions of the Horn but does so in a way that also evokes both the Dublin and the Cutty. The accelerated flare at the transition adds some separation to the bowl that works in concert with its urge to cultivate a unique look which allows all of these shaping elements to harmonize within the composition. The rim is softly inflated and features a demure chamfer into the chamber for easier loading of tobacco, the stummel dressed in a vibrant auburn stain that reveals flowing flame grain through the flanks and around the bowl while the top and underside are peppered with birdseye.