Alexander Tupitsyn: Sandblasted Bent Apple with Black Palm Tobacco Pipe

Alexander Tupitsyn is one of three artisans who comprise the PS Studio workshop in Russia, working alongside Sergey Dyomin and master maker Vladimir Grechukhin, as well as carving handmade pipes under his own name. Tupitsyn's style is influenced by his time as Grechukhin's student, with compact, stout proportions true to the St. Petersburg school of design. This bent Apple is a great example of Tupitsyn's approach to shaping, coming in at well under five and a half inches long and boasting an impressive heartiness throughout its build that results in a balanced, graceful composition. The transition here is wide, with ample room to drape a digit if desired, and it gives way to a thick, flaring shank that lifts subtly while expanding to meet a trim saddle stem. The base of this stem continues the shank's flare, naturally extending the trajectory of its lines before the flared base dips into a slim, demurely downturned bit: poising this pipe for more comfortable smoking, while a band of black palm accents the broad base. From the left flank of this base, a firm ridgeline manifests, forming the shank into a sharp, teardrop shape before the ridge continues through the underside to line the entire lower left flank with subdued geometry. Up front, the bowl stands on a curling heel and grows delightfully curvaceous walls, offering a wealth of plump curvature to appreciate in hand, while a slight forward cant lends this piece an understated dynamism. The shank's ridge extends through the fore wall of the bowl and follows its rounded outline expertly, coming to rest just below the chamfered, smooth rim and creating a subtle bit of asymmetry that calls to mind the charming dual-panel arrangement of the Blowfish. The dividing line cultivates a more continuous rounding on the right flank of the bowl that pushes out slightly more than the left side's comparatively more shallow curve. Dressed in a crisp sandblast and a vibrant contrast stain, the stummel reveals blasted birdseye across both flanks of the bowl, with rippling growth rings through the midsection that are especially numerous near the shank's ridge.