Viktor Yashtylov: Smooth Paneled Freehand Tobacco Pipe

In profile, it's difficult to distinguish the heel from the rim in this striking Freehand from Viktor Yashtylov, both elements displaying the same sprouting edges and concave center. It's a piece that seems to change form depending on from which vantage point you view it. From the sides, it resembles a sturdy Poker, the bowl appearing cylindrical and the transition high-set to define the heel below. View it head-on, though, and you'll notice a drastically pinched shape, like that of the Opera, making for a slender column of a piece — the rim and heel flaring slightly as if supporting some great ancient edifice. Even further, if gripped in hand by the shank and stem, like a handle, the pipe is transformed into Thor's mighty Mjölnir. An incredibly geometric design, the form consists of crisp panels, trim facets, and firm ridgelines, and as for the grain, well, it couldn't be better — tight-knit tiger stripes fill the flanks, while the fore wears birdseye that blossoms into a portion of natural plateau.