Danish Estates: Preben Holm Fancy Private Collection Smooth Freehand (101) Tobacco Pipe

This Freehand piece from Preben Holm is quite the imposing briar, stretching out to over eight inches long and holding a bowl that rises to over two and a half inches tall. The stem is responsible for much of this length, and has been fitted with a pair of firm expansion rings at the base, married to the shank at an extension of matching black vulcanite. The wide transition is pinched here and starts the flow of the shank, with the shank flaring out at the underside almost immediately as it pushes out, tapering then to meet the extension. Up front, the bowl stands monolithic upon a sharp, spurred heel, flaring out dramatically to an expansive rim whose look is made all the more striking thanks to an accelerated growth of briar just as it nears the top. A deep, Chestnut-hued stain dresses the stummel, revealing a wealth of flame grain around the stummel and a plethora of birdseye at the rim, the rim itself surrounded by plateau at the edges. The expansive, florally-inclined rim is quite thin at its edges, and as such, has actually chipped a few times at the fore, though the price has been adjusted to reflect this.