German Estates: Rainer Barbi Smooth Paneled Horn (CB) (993) Tobacco Pipe

With a career spanning nearly 40 years, Rainer Barbi was one of the most well respected artisans in the pipe world and, quite possibly, the best that Germany had ever seen before his untimely death in 2011. Entirely self taught, Barbi was a prominent autodidact whose work garnered near universal acclaim for its shaping, finishing, and excellent smoking properties. The Horn is a shape we've seen exactly one time from the German artisan, and even then it was not in this kind of paneled configuration, making this piece quite the rare one. Unlike many Horns we've seen in the past, this iteration of the shape features an almost Dublin-like outline, with a more defined transition than we're used to seeing, though it takes on the same kind of sweeping curvature here that's present in the more standard variations of the shape. The trim saddle stem here takes on a slight downturn, the base flared toward the bit and showcasing a broad, amber-hued accent with a crackling internal pattern that offers some implied texture and a handsome contrast to the stummel's warm mahogany stain. From the flanks of the shank near the transition start a pair of firm ridgelines that flow through the flaring bowl, meeting a separate ridge which then wraps the rim. Said rim showcases a soft inflation about it that accentuates the supple curves of this piece, and the intersection of the ridges lends it a pair of defined points, one at either flank, that offer further visual intrigue.