Danish Estates: Manduela Smooth Bent Bulldog with Boxwood Tobacco Pipe

Born in Germany in 1967, Manduela Riger-Kusk relocated to Jutland, Denmark, when she was only four years old, eventually taking up pipe smoking after she finished school. Like many pipe smokers, one was not enough for her, and her desire for more pipes sparked an interest in making her own due to the cost of buying them new. As such, she found herself at the doorstep of Poul Ilsted, one of the Denmark's master carvers, who then took her in as an apprentice, teaching her his methods of drilling, shaping, and faceting. Before his death, Ilsted was widely regarded as the "master of facets" in the pipe world, and the nuances of what he taught to Manduela are evident in her work and especially in this bent Bulldog.

There's an almost preternatural marriage of firmness and softness present throughout this pipe that keeps my eye wandering over its surfaces in an effort to take in all of its minutia. The bowl here is a bit more solid than is often seen from Manduela, with a poised and pert profile that's still quite robust, lending this piece a bit more muscularity. Said bowl takes on a well-defined flare from its pointed heel to a high-set waistline marked by twin beadlines, tapering, then, to the rim. The shank and stem comprise a fluid S-curve that's framed by diamond paneling, outlining the curvature of the combination without detracting from it in a manner that's wonderfully similar to Ilsted's. This piece benefits from a half-saddle stem, allowing a fully consistent undercurve to ebb from the button to the heel, all while the top portion is afforded a degree of stylish sleekness which lends more compositional importance to the fluid lines that Manduela has carved here. Dressing this pipe is warm smooth finish, revealing striking flame grain throughout the bowl, its hues contrasted well by both the stem and its boxwood inlay.