Werner Mummert: Sandblasted Apple Tobacco Pipe

Werner Mummert isn't what one would call a complacent carver. Even his more classic designs are imbued with envelope-pushing energy that if not displayed in the shape itself, comes through in the finish or color palette. This Apple rendition from the German carver is a visual lesson in perspective, changing shape based on the viewer's vantage point and fitting well into Mummert's innovative aesthetic. In profile, the transition takes visual precedence — the shank rising all the way from heel to rim — and the bowl's rounded flanks are almost imperceptible as the sandblasted growth rings extend seamlessly through the bowl and onto the shank. The saddle stem in contrast slopes downward in dramatic diminution, adding forward-urging dynamism in a comfortably slender mouthpiece for optimal smoking.

View this pipe from above, however, and this piece takes on a completely different form. Instead of a presenting a wide, splayed profile, the vertical perception is decidedly more sleek and fluid — almost fish-like. From this vantage point, the bowl's curves are pronounced and dominant compared to the rest of piece. The shank, then, is slender, belying its profile, and gradually flares toward the stem, which continues the lines of the shank as it expands into a fishtail bit. Such a combination — the rounded bowl and trim, flaring shank-and-stem configuration — emulates the look of a fish in profile, contrasting against the pipe's side view. All dressed in a natural stain, the rim and shank's topside are left smooth for textural contrast against the rest of the stummel's sandblast, while the variegated hues of the vulcanite mouthpiece add complementary red, salmon, and ebony colors.