Manduela: ***Smooth Pot with Silver Tobacco Pipe

Poul Ilsted was one of the great Danish masters of pipe making, his expertise in shaping the result of mostly self taught methods. Manduela Riger-Kusk was fortunate enough to have apprenticed under Ilsted while still a teenager, learning early in her career from one of the best possible sources that she could, later moving on to work with Pipe-Dan for a year and establishing her own personal workshop. Compact and graceful shapes dominate her portfolio, many replete with crisp lines and exacting shaping, each rendering solidifying her reputation for crafting finely faceted smoking instruments such as this Pot.

You'd be forgiven for immediately assuming that this pipe would be fairly large, or at least as large as is average for the shape, though that is decidedly not the case, as, not only is this pipe less than five inches long, it also weighs less than an ounce. That being said, until I was able to actually get my hands on this piece, even I was thoroughly convinced that this was a full-sized rendition of the shape, and this is due to the incredibly well-proportioned nature of Manduela's shaping, keeping the bowl, shank, and stem all composed in a perfectly harmonious way. The shaping of this piece is quite traditional, with a tapered stem leading into a straight stretch of shank adorned with a trim band of silver at its end. The transition is nearly a right angle but canted forward just enough to balance the composition and is slightly cheeked in the top side, flowing upward into the bowl which bows out a touch as it nears the rim on the aft side, lending it a tad bit of plumpness that is certainly welcome. The heel is firm and pronounced, with just a bit of rounding, tying in an overall quite structured element that's present in most of this pipe's construction, something that I would even consider to be quite muscular, regardless of the overall size. The stummel is dressed in a warm auburn-chestnut stain that reveals some truly stunning grain around the bowl, with some flame here and there, but the majority of it composed of straight grain.