Mike Sebastian Bay: Smooth Tomato with Mammoth Tobacco Pipe

Among the foremost Danish artisans to begin carving pipes in recent decades, Mike Sebastian Bay cultivates a style that draws much from his time apprenticing with Tom Eltang, imbuing those techniques with Bay's own creative flourishes. This Tomato is an excellent example of that style in a shape relatively uncommon for Bay, being only the second example Smokingpipes has received from him. The bowl is rendered in Danish fashion, with shallow supple curves and a heels that flows seamlessly into its plump midriff, as well as a heavily cheeked transition. The shank on this piece curls upward from the transition, flaring wide as it approached a handsome accent made from genuine mammoth at its point of conjunction to a hand-cut saddle stem of black vulcanite, downturned for clenching comfort. Dressed in a rich auburn stain, the stummel boasts perfectly oriented grain, with tight flame grain encircling the bowl and shank, while birdseye swirls at the heel and rim.