Sabina Santos: Sandblasted Calabash with Mammoth (G) Tobacco Pipe

Portuguese artisan Sabina Santos is one of the few pipe makers in her country, and her work displays an impressively refined, thoroughly Danish sense of line that bolsters the impact of her ceaselessly impressive shaping style and finishing techniques. Her personal style fuses Danish design with a uniquely organic dynamism for shapes that are both singular and beautiful, such as this Calabash, a shape that we've seen from her before, though this iteration stands out: showcasing a more classically oriented silhouette with a fairly reserved degree of bend compared to her other Calabash pieces.

This pipe is quite robust, and it presents with a bowl that's extremely palm-filling, flaring out from a fairly wide, arcing transition that affords this piece an organically flowing character. The bowl itself rises to a full two and and-a-half inches tall and urges forward dynamically, the fore wall bulging out slightly and granting the composition a degree of lively momentum. Immediately reminiscent of the gourd Calabash, the smoothly curving lines of this piece extend through both the bowl and the shank, with the shank itself comprising a curling stretch of cylindrical briar that lifts to meet a broad fitment of rose-toned mammoth. This mammoth accent acts as the junction to a sleek, slender saddle stem of black vulcanite, one whose base is crafted with a trim expansion ring, creating negative space at the aft side that draws the eye and balances some of the bowl's imposing visual weight. Additionally, the stem's slim bit makes a subdued downturn near the middle, stylistically continuing the shank's fluid curvature while simultaneously poising this piece for comfortable smoking.

Capping off the bowl is a, well, cap of mammoth whose striking, baroque patterns and rosy hues contrast the finish of the stummel quite well, all while enhancing the stylistic similarities between this piece and its grown gourd brethren. This peaked cap flares out from the rest of the bowl to great effect as it sits cradled by a ring of cork around the hollow interior of the briar, making this a true Calabash and calling back to renditions we've seen from past centuries, not only functionally but in its deeply curved stance. The interior of the rim is chamfered and made from an insert of briar which additionally forms the true chamber, its smooth surface readily contrasting the tones of the mammoth cap and the surrounding stummel. Said stummel is dressed in a crisp, inky sandblast that reveals rippling bands of growth rings cascading down the briar at an angle, creating a vast basin of blasted birdseye across the fore wall that's sure to enthrall thanks to its rich texture and delightful grain. This piece is a superlative offering from the Portuguese artisan, and has earned her G grade, denoting her best work and honoring her son Gil.