Sandblasted Acorn with Boxwood Tobacco Pipe

Wang Tieyuan, the artisan behind Madao3000 pipes, finds endless inspiration in nature. "Nature is never repetitive," he says, and he hopes the same can be said for the pipes he creates. Wang strives to imbue every single one of his smoking instruments with its own unique personality — a goal he has certainly achieved with this distinctive Acorn.

Wang's affinity for nature is quite evident in this Acorn. For starters, there's a highly elegant, organic sense of asymmetry throughout the bowl: The fore swells out more dramatically than the aft, and the crisp, undulating ridgeline that informs the rim dips down much further at the fore as well. (The latter is due to the aft wall's shorter height, which is also interrupted by the emergence of the shank.) This visual lowering of the rim slightly offsets the bowl's overall tilt, establishing a pleasing sense of push and pull. There is also a pleasing sense of balance throughout the composition, as both the shank and bowl exhibit a pronounced flare. The shank flares outward toward the vulcanite stem, which is quite attractively stylized and adorned with boxwood This material adds a splash of brightness and smooth texture that plays well off of the stummel's rich, ruby-tinged sandblast. Altogether, this is a lovely piece from Wang, and it presents an exciting opportunity to appreciate the talents of a new artisan whose work has never been offered at Smokingpipes before.