Danish Estates: Nording Smooth Bent Apple with Silver (13) Tobacco Pipe

A trailblazer for the Danish Fancy style, Erik Nørding has been handcrafting pipes since the 1960s. Even before his pipe-making career, Nørding always had a knack for invention. Taking after his father, he worked as a blacksmith when he was 15 years old and later studied engineering, all in preparation to one day take over his family's factory. After graduating, Nording veered away from running the factory and took up fashioning pipe-making machinery, which would lead him toward making his own pipes. While Nørding is most known for his expressive Freehands, this bent Apple showcases his traditional side. A rotund bowl stands at the fore of the composition, its supple walls traveling from the firm, jutting heel and curving toward the flat rim, forming a plump figure that fits snugly in the hand. From a subtly defined transition, an upturned, muscular shank gradually flares toward a mocha-hued acrylic accent, which meets a matching stem that's adorned with a silver band at its base. Dressing the stummel is a dark contrast stain that reveals handsome grain throughout.