Abe Herbaugh: Sandblasted Tomato with Horn Tobacco Pipe

We've seen Vermont-based carver Abe Herbaugh playing and experimenting with bulbous design cues interplayed with streamlined forms over the past few years. In past renditions, Herbaugh has presented rounded bowl shapes and paired them with horn accents that, instead of flaring at the end as is common among classic Danish pieces, are more rotund to echo the curvaceous lines of the bowls.

More recently, Abe has rendered and displayed the same aesthetic but in compact, chubby Tomato shapes — the whole form defined by curving muscularity rather than contrasting bulging horn accents and bowls against sleek shanks. This example is a beautiful continuation of that style. A nosewarmer of a Tomato, the broad, high-waisted bowl tapers into a subtle heel spur, reminiscent of an Acorn, while the abbreviated shank maintains the bowl's muscularity as it leads into a horn mount. The plump shaping of the accent echoes the bowl's design, balancing the profile, and the motif once again repeated at the stem base. In this example, though, Abe has off-set the rounded end of the horn accent, adding asymmetry that echoes the tilted, concave nature of the rim. Dressed in a rich, crimson contrast stain, it's further commended by a stunning sandblast, and the creamy hues of the horn contrast handsomely.