Jess Chonowitsch: Smooth Bent Brandy Tobacco Pipe

While the bent Brandy is a standard form across numerous classic pipe charts, this particular rendition is readily recognized as that of Jess Chonowitsch, with other artisans having produced their own versions of the Danish master's signature take on the design. Chonowitsch's interpretation is always a compact one, yet one that doesn't lack in plump substance and inherent curvaceousness, the rotund form and supple Danish lines belying the piece's overall diminutive size. However, said muscularity doesn't make for a stolid, static pipe — quite the opposite. This piece urges ever forward from the saddle stem's slight downward bend, to the shank's gradual taper into the transition, and, ultimately, in the heel's voluptuous, almost protruding nature. While full of Danish shaping cues in its smooth, honey-blonde finish, and genteel line work, this piece still hints at Jess's love for classic English pieces, most notably through his use of muscularity and a traditional color palette, further elevated by a stunning arrangement of vertical grain.