Natural Sandblasted Volcano Tobacco Pipe

Wang Tieyuan, better known by his pseudonym Madao 3000, is a Chinese artisan with a penchant for subtly organic forms informed by his unique interpretations of the Danish and Japanese shaping schools. Inspired in equal measure by the works of master carvers that came before him and the natural world around him, Tieyuan's outlook on his craft is that of a persistent search for novel renditions of forms both familiar and fresh, telling us; "Nature is never repetitive, and I hope my pipes will never be either." This Volcano is an agile and aerodynamically constructed piece with a great deal of dynamism about its build that keeps the smoker consistently engaged in the fine details of its shaping.

Though there does appear to be some inspiration present in the conceptualization of this piece, looking to have drawn from those Volcanoes made by Japanese and Chinese artisans alike, this is a delightfully singular take on the classic shape that balances a low-slung bowl with a good bit of verticality through the shank and stem. As with many other evocatively organic takes on the Volcano, this pipe is crafted with a broad, continuous base that underlines the entirety of the stummel, its expanse encircled by a wrapping ridgeline that both sharpens the edges of the silhouette and counters the softness of the underside's surface. The underside here makes a subtle push outward near the middle, creating a gentle curvature as the briar softly arcs toward the base's ridge, cultivating a kind of visual and stylistic basin: offering comfort in the hand and plenty of structural contrast to contemplate while smoking. The transition is wide, with ample room to drape a digit, and it gives way to a sharply upturned shank rendered in a semi-lenticular form, something fully revealed at the face as an arcing top ridge surrounds its subtly domed surface. A trim brass ring is inlaid at the face, bolstering the push-style friction mount of a sleek saddle stem rendered from black vulcanite, its expansion ring cinching at the flanks to create a dip at the bit and highlight a more apparent squaring of the slender sides of the stem. Up front, the bowl urges forward with gusto, the aft wall following the curve of the transition as it angles toward the rim, with the side walls following suit as they rise up from the base. As the lines of the walls near the fore, there's a very slight bit of convex shaping close to the heel, displaying a rich, yet understated contrast thanks to its proximity to the sharp edge of the base. Additionally, this bowl showcases a subdued asymmetry, with the left flank and fore rising to a peak before forming a slope at the rim, which redoubles the structural and shaping intrigue that this piece offers and makes the fore of this pipe a visual focal point. Dressing this pipe is a lovely, naturally-finished sandblast that keeps the pipe rather soft to the touch while revealing a pattern of stacked, almost overlapping growth rings that are pierced by densely packed streaks of visible flame grain: flame that nicely follows the contours of the bowl on the right side.