Martelo: Sandblasted Bent Pot Tobacco Pipe

Martelo pipes don't last long around here, and this piece demonstrates why. Gustavo Cunha has a design style that imbues traditional shapes with stunning new treatments, such as this sandblasted Pot. The bowl is slightly tapered as it rises, offering a hint of Billiard in its recent genealogy while maintaining the firm proportions of a Pot. That vertically compressed bowl is emphasized by the long, sweeping S-curve of the shank and stem, the tapered mouthpiece commanding a balanced aspect both visually and in terms of ease in the jaw for hands-free smoking.

A relatively small pipe, it projects a larger personality in part because of the proportionately elongated shank and stem, while the sandblast is, as with every Martelo blast I've handled, deep and craggy and taking full advantage of excellent briar. I prefer sandblasts and Cunha's are among the very best, as is this fine composition, which is certainly an interpretation of the shape that will satisfy for its lifetime.