Ping Zhan: Contrast Sandblasted Blowfish Tobacco Pipe

While Chinese carver Ping Zhan worked as a software engineer for a number of years, he always harbored dreams of a pursuing a career in the arts. Attracted to three dimensional art, Zhan became cognizant of pipe making and saw a way to realize his creative aspirations through the medium of briar. Taking inspiration from the Danish and Japanese pipe-making traditions, Ping Zhan developed a style that prioritized deft line work, gorgeous finishes, and a distinctly organic aesthetic, with all three of those elements represented by this stunning Blowfish.

The Blowfish is a shape Zhan has returned to with some frequency, and it's easy to understand why, as the Blowfish lends itself to creative interpretation, allowing Zhan to showcase his full range of skills. As is traditional for the form, the bowl here is unevenly bifurcated by a pair of crisp ridgelines, which wrap around the rim and heel and lend definition to the chamber's bulbous flanks. Standing atop a lifted heel, the bowl possesses a forward-surging posture that's balanced by the shank-and-stem arrangement's sweeping curvature. The bowl, shank, and stem work in tandem to lend the totality of the form a fluid profile, belying the structural rigidity proffered by the stummel's firm, architectural lines. A striking composition, this piece is elevated by a crisp, contrast-stained sandblast that highlights gorgeous cross grain along the heel and rim, and striking birdseye across the bowl's flanks.