Nanna Ivarsson: Sandblasted Blowfish (1819) Tobacco Pipe

This specific rendition of the Blowfish shape — as Nanna and the Ivarssons have called it — dates back to Sixten Ivarsson's earlier students, namely Lars Ivarsson. Since then it has become a staple and sublime example of Danish artisan pipe making, epitomizing many of the shaping cues now associated with that tradition — presenting soft and supple curves with extra attention paid to grain orientation and how it relates to the lines of the shape itself. Most notable about the Blowfish is the curling, flared teardrop shank, the resulting ridgeline traveling through the stummel and the profile much resembling the dynamic tail of the creature after which it's named. Nanna Ivarsson, like her father, has championed the design here, appealing to aficionados of Danish high-grades through the shape's history and nostalgic nature and boasting Nanna's superlative skill and artistry.

In past iterations we've seen from Nanna, the Danish master has played with the shank's orientation, altering the face or position of the ridgeline, etc. For this piece, though, Nanna has stayed true to the original archetype. The underlying arc curves consistently through the shank and into the bowl's fore, grounding the composition and forming the foundation upon which the rest of the piece builds. The hard line of the shank travels up the front-left side of the bowl, apparent only in hand, not in silhouette. Apart from the rim and shank face, the stummel is lent a crisp sandblasted finish, stained a chocolate hue and defined by concentric growth rings and dimpled birdseye alike. The smoothed shank face, then, bears a brass ring about the mortise. Such a mount style is common in artisan pipe making, but instead of fashioning it flush with the briar, Nanna has raised it slightly to echo the base of the saddle stem, merging the mouthpiece with the rest of the composition. As one of the preeminent pipe makers on the planet, Nanna never fails to produce some of the finest pipes on the market, her shaping and craftsmanship setting the precedent for many carvers across the industry and defining modern, high-grade Danish pipes, all while maintaining that renowned Ivarsson touch.