Abe Herbaugh: Sandblasted Bent Egg with Musk Ox Horn Tobacco Pipe

This style of bent pipe is an oft-seen form from Abe Herbaugh, marked by a gestural, stretched curvature through the shank, stem, and heel. Though the American carver renders this flowing style at varying degrees, from more subtle to more dramatic, each piece exudes the same fluid presence and forward-urging dynamism. The bent Egg example offered here is one of the more deeply bent iterations of that style, and such shaping works well with the generously sloping heel and taller, rounded bowl of this piece. The gentle transition lends visual prominence to both the bowl and shank, and in the case of this composition, the shank is particularly highlighted: It's extended by a generous piece of musk ox horn, flaring toward the domed end in Danish style — echoed, then, by the shaping of the stem base, incorporating the mouthpiece into the overall design. Abe has been using musk ox horn more and more lately, and this is one of the most stunning examples I've witnessed, the shimmering grain patterns and creamy palette of the mount noticeably different than the horn usually used in pipe making and contrasting beautifully against the dark-stained, low-profile sandblast of the briar.