Mark Tinsky: Black and Tan Bent Bulldog Christmas 2023 Tobacco Pipe

Every year since 1983, Montana-based carver Mark Tinsky has celebrated the holiday season with a series of Christmas pipes. Each release comprises a single shape rendered across a variety of Tinsky's signature finishes. For 2023, Tinsky presents a gestural bent Bulldog shape, one that sees a muscular bowl set to an upturned diamond shank and a demurely curved tapered stem. The bowl stands atop a plump heel and grows thick, insulating walls that flare to a high-set waistline marked by twin beadlines, which additionally denote the start of the rim's taper. The diamond shank's firm, architectural lines lend a touch of rigidity to the shape's profile, and provide structural definition to the supple heel. Dressed in the stylish Black and Tan finish, this piece sees sections of smoothly polished briar juxtaposed against a dark rustication.