Mike Sebastian Bay: Rusticated Cutty with Mammoth Tobacco Pipe

Looking for someone to repair his father's old pipes, Mike Sebastian Bay found himself in the workshop of Tom Eltang. After talking, the two men quickly bonded, and Eltang offered Bay an apprenticeship. Bay accepted and set about learning everything he could from the elder carver. Overtime, Bay refined his craft as he studied shaping, drilling, engineering, and finishing. Now, Michael Sebastian Bay is one of Denmark's most accomplished young artisans, and his work is sought after by discerning collectors from all over the world.

This Cutty is a fine example of Bay's style, what with its clean lines, subtle curves, and lightweight in-hand presence. As is typical for the form, this piece possesses an Egg-like bowl that cants at the fore of the composition, lending the overall shape an active, dynamic posture in profile. The slender build of the shank-and-stem arrangement lends the bowl and its accompanying forward-cant most of the visual weight within the design, putting an emphasis on the bowl's lively character. The bowl features a subtle expanse at its waistline that naturally fills wrapping-fingers with substance, while cheeking along the transition lends the heel a fuller, rounder appearance. A warm, virgin rustication dresses the stummel and covers the flanks of the bowl with craggy valleys of briar.