Misc. Estates: Wojtek Pastuch Sandblasted Rhodesian Tobacco Pipe

Polish artisan Wojtek Pastuch's shaping style ranges from classically inclined pieces to more whimsical, avant-garde ones, with this Rhodesian being something of a marriage between the two. Here, Pastuch presents the shape with its characteristically tapered rim, but he's softened the form's ridgeline considerably, it presence more felt than seen, giving the bowl a much softer appearance overall. The shank blends through the transition into the heel, undergirding the bowl and seemingly hoisting it up at the fore of the composition. The shank rapidly broadens across its length, its expansion emphasizing the curvaceousness of the composition in profile. The stummel wears a crisp, earth-toned sandblast that coaxes out rippling waves of growth rings across the surface of the bowl, while a pale accent across the shank end provides a touch of visual and tactile diversity.