German Estates: Rainer Barbi Smooth Bent Dublin (ASBB) Tobacco Pipe

The late Rainer Barbi is among Germany's greatest artisan pipe makers, and with a cumulative experience of nearly 40 years before his untimely death in 2011, it's not hard to see why. Barbi began carving pipes in 1974, learning his craft entirely on his own and growing to become one of the most accomplished carvers in the pipe world, gaining a considerable following as he continued to produce exceptional pieces. This particular bent Dublin is one of his rather uncommon Freehand-inspired pieces, displaying a good deal of Danish influence throughout its build, but presenting with a look that is unmistakably Barbi.

There's a profound sense of fluidity throughout this piece, with a sinuous S-curve comprising the outline as a whole, the shank and stem working in concert with the sweeping flare of the bowl to create a wonderfully sinuous silhouette. This combination of shank and stem flows out of a wide transition and flares out to the stem base, the base marking the start of a trio of ridgelines that frame not only the shape as a whole but the base itself, creating a rounded scalene triangle shape that's quite striking to behold. The demurely downturned stem poises this pipe for comfortable smoking and grants it an elegant posture, while the aforementioned ridges push through the entirety of the stummel, one running through the right flank, one through the underside, and one at the top. These follow the bowl's blooming expansion from the sweeping heel and meet at a ridgeline placed just below the inflated rim, the rim's ridge plunging to meet each one and creating angular, Y-shaped points that draw the eye to the bowl. Said rim is a wonderfully asymmetrical affair that, despite being pierced by a ridge on the right, looks rather lenticular in its outline. Dressed in a warm mahogany stain, this piece from the accomplished artisan showcases some extremely well-developed flame grain on all flanks of the stummel, with the rim and underside peppered by pinpricks of birdseye.