Misc. Estates: Sabina Santos Smooth Horn with Masur Birch (Unsmoked) Tobacco Pipe

Portuguese artisan Sabina Santos is one of few pipe makers in her country, and her work displays an impressively refined, thoroughly Danish sense of line that bolsters the impact of her ceaselessly impressive shaping style and finishing techniques. It's very seldom that Sabina Santos crafts Horns, making this piece a rarity from the artisan, and one that's sure to appeal to enthusiasts of her work. Additionally, this is an impressively compact take on the shape at well under five inches long, making it all the more desirable, as most Horns tend to be quite lengthy.

A geometric rendition of the modern classic profile, Sabina has lined the flanks of the stummel with panels, offering ample firmness in hand and guiding the eye gradually from stem to rim while calling to mind Sixten Ivarsson's Oliphant. The transition is wide and significantly curved, pairing the bowl to a compressed, slightly rectangular shank that lifts understatedly as it nears the junction. Here, the shank meets a subtly curved stem of black vulcanite whose base is accented with a broad band of masur birch, drawing the eye toward the aft side before the bit makes its demure downturn to the button. From both flanks of the stem base, the pair of panels make their start as a series of ridges, with the top and bottom pair following the shape of the stummel as it expands out toward the bowl. Said bowl stands on a sweeping heel that affords it a forward urge and a striking sense of dynamism, the fore wall angling the front of the rim down as the aft side lifts. The walls themselves are fairly thick and nicely insulate the chamber, and they take on a gradual flare to the rim, its domed surface offsetting some of the firmness present through the panels. There's additional rounding present at the underside, where the stummel takes on a softly pronounced, belly-like look that manifests as the end of a flare which starts at the top side: the briar broadening through the flanks. Dressed in a warm, rich, smooth finish, the stummel showcases lovely grain, as the walls are lined with a pattern of flame grain that follows the outline of the stummel and curves into cross grain near the bowl. At both the top and underside, the briar is covered in birdseye, though the underside is especially packed with the swirling pinpricks, all while the stem's comparatively pale accent provides lovely contrast.