Pete Prevost: Sandblasted Mini Bent Dublin Sitter with Bakelite Tobacco Pipe

While Pete Provost maintains a diverse portfolio that ranges stylistically from lithe, svelte pieces to especially chubby, compact examples, this mini bent Dublin is one of his more uncommon, diminutive pipes. Measuring fewer than four inches long, it certainly maintains the American carver's penchant for Nosewarmers. Boasting petite proportions and an almost feather weight, this piece features a conical, gently flaring and slender bowl with an oval panel at the conjunction of heel and fore that allows it to sit. The gestural, gradually flaring shank extends from a low-set transition and is topped by an abbreviated, tiny saddle stem of Bakelite, its cream color starkly contrasting one of Pete's extra-dark, low-profile sandblasts. His keen eye for shaping a briar block to best show off its grain is remarkable here, as tight stacks of horizontal ring grain ripple from the heel to rim on all flanks. This is yet another stunning example of expert craftsmanship and finesse from the American artisan.