Kai Nielsen: Smooth Bent Bulldog (Jewel of Denmark) (A) Tobacco Pipe

A second-generation Danish pipe maker, Kai Nielsen is the son of Viggo Nielsen, who helped found the marque Bari in 1948. Kai Nielsen often spent time around the workshop in his childhood, and began working there at 21 years of age. Over 50 years later, Kai Nielsen is still making pipes. Nielsen makes traditional shapes with a classic Danish style, evidenced by many of his pipe's gestural profiles and supple bowls. Few pipe makers have more experience than Kai Nielsen, and his lifelong skill is evident in each pipe he crafts.

The bent Bulldog is an excellent shape to showcase crisp line work, making this an ideal canvas for Kai Nielsen's talents. The shank really shines here, as it features six facets, two on the top, another two on the underside, and two trim ones running along the flanks. These facets frame the curvaceous profile and also highlight varied grain patterns, with the underside featuring swirling birdseye as the thin flanks showcase sweeping vertical grain. Moreover, the facets even extend onto the stem, which fits perfectly flush to the shank.

It's unusual to say a bent Bulldog's bowl softens the composition, but it is the case here. Above the waistline, the rim is inflated, rather than the traditional taper, contributing to a supple look and feel. Below the waistline, the bowl boasts stout shaping, and the sharp heel at the fore lends the shape familiar muscularity. Additionally, the dark chestnut stain highlights tightly-packed tendrils of flame grain that rise from the facets on the underside to the high-set waistline, which is adorned with beadlines for a tactile accent. Finally, the broad, inflated rim tops things off with freckles of birdseye that swirl in a mesmerizing pattern.