Konstantin Shekita: Sandblasted Reverse Calabash Snail with Mammoth Tobacco Pipe

The Snail is a shape I don't see every day, or hardly ever for that matter, and highly interpretive when it does cross my desk. I guess it should come as no surprise to receive one from Konstantin Shekita, and a reverse Calabash at that, given the Ukrainian artisan's penchant for the bold and creative.

The head and neck of this snail are rendered as a forward-urging, flared bowl akin to a gestural Dublin, reducing to a pinched transition before swelling to a plump reverse Calabash chamber that forms the snail's shell. To say it is an interesting design would be an understatement, as it is a substantial reversal of expectations in terms of shaping, with the shank larger than the bowl, capped by an eye-catching mammoth accent. The broad saddle stem tops the piece, sprouting almost straight up before curling at the lip button to offer a comfortable smoking posture. The inventive design is dressed in a low-profile sandblast and ink-black stain that accentuates stimulating growth rings without drawing attention away from the bespoke shaping.