Jess Chonowitsch Smooth Billiard with Bamboo Tobacco Pipe

A second-generation pipe maker through his father, Emil, and a pupil of the legendary Sixten Ivarsson, the late Jess Chonowitsch also worked in Poul Rasmussen's workshop and at the W.Ø. Larsen factory before starting a workshop with his father in their native Denmark. His lengthy career spawned some remarkably well-made and eminently collectable pieces, such as this Billiard.

Jess fronted this piece with a bowl of absolutely stunning flame grain from heel to rim, all of it smoothly finished and colored with a warm, mahogany stain that gives off a deep red hue. The bowl has a light taper and round heel, almost like that of an Apple, and backs up with a short stub of briar shank. That stub in turn transitions to a two-knuckle length of pale bamboo which, together with the vulcanite saddle stem, gives the pipe a tricolor effect, emphasizing the considerable creative thought that Jess put into this piece. The stem is saddle-style with medium shoulders that mimic the shape of a knuckle of bamboo, almost mimicking the appearance of a third knuckle to the shank. All around, it's a beautifully crafted work of pipe making, made all the more so by the smooth finish and lovely stain that Jess gave the bowl, which makes it just as desirable to hold as it is to fill and light up.