Manduela: Smooth Bent Bulldog with Bone Tobacco Pipe

When first thinking of Poul Ilsted's work, two distinct forms come to mind: his signature Bulldog and Dublin shapes. Both feature some form of paneled or faceted shank, with a strong leading line running across the underside, forming a subtle spur of sorts along the heel. Both also balance those firm, sharp lines with a remarkable fluidity in profile, leaving the resulting composition both very modernist and yet quite elegant in its curve and recurve. It's an aesthetic that Poul developed over many years, and one he's passed on to a number of independent artisans as well. Alexander Tupitsyn, for example, incorporates similar themes into his designs, but none quite capture the style as genuinely and accurately as Poul's former apprentice, Manduela Riger-Kusk.

Case in point: this bent Bulldog. The Ilsted-like paneling along the shank and beveling at the rim and underside are just beautifully executed, very clean of line and plane, adding intent and purpose to the piece. Despite those firm lines, however, Manduela's done well to balance the composition with no small amount of fluid gesture in profile, with all of those various planes actually working to emphasize the near serpentine flow of the shank and stem. It's a striking piece, no doubt, made even bolder by the artisan's choice of finish and color palette. It's dressed in a fiery contrast stain and topped with a deep blue vulcanite mouthpiece, accented only by a broad stripe of pale bone.

- Andrew Wike