Smooth Dora with Bamboo Tobacco Pipe

An ultra-compact piece, the Dora featured here is one of Dirk Heinemann's signature shapes, the dynamic form designed on paper prior to the pipe-making process. Easily palmed, its dimensions are geometrically sculpted with the forward-urging bowl displaying plenty of plump curves. It's bisected at the fore by a ridgeline that begins at the rim and descends, splitting dramatically into panels as it sails through the heel, widening toward the shank end.

This Dora is rife with angularity and creative shaping. The transition is high-set, while the tall flanks of the shank are ribbed below by one of the aforementioned ridgelines, lending plenty of structure. Continuing the asymmetrical aesthetic dominating this piece, the German carver has shaped the bowl-towering shank face with a lenticular cross-section, the top and bottom coming to rounded points. Speaking of the shank end, it's made of bamboo, the sandy hues pairing well with the walnut contrast stain covering the stummel. The grain here is formidable, with beautiful birdseye small and large interspersed with tight-knit cross for a pipe that's as eclectic as it is fascinating.