Werner Mummert: Sandblasted Poker Tobacco Pipe

Known as one of the most innovative and "envelope-pushing" artisans working today, Werner Mummert often takes classic shapes and contemporizes them, his ingenious and often playful pipe-making methods resulting in amazing, sometimes startling pieces. The German carver's portfolio includes abstract, vividly colored pipes that double as works of art, yet all are precisely engineered, quality smoking instruments. This rendition is a bit reserved compared to his Cubist-inspired, vividly colored De Stijl Pokers, for example, but certainly features some stylistic tweaks.

This Poker is subtly paneled across the bowl, which here is diamond shaped, the normally crisply lined facets softened and hinting at a Danish influence. Tall and subsequently deeply chambered, it's flattened at the heel, allowing it to sit sturdily upright. The slightly wavy, asymmetrical rim tops the thick-walled bowl, which presents an optical illusion of sorts, depending on the view. From the smoker's perspective, it intriguingly appears rounded. It's affixed to a nearly pencil-thin, rounded shank that's topped by a short, slender, hand-cut stem of jet-black vulcanite. The mouthpiece may lack the lively multiple colors found on many a Mummert piece, but the overall color scheme is certainly eye-catching: The stummel is dressed in a vivid crimson sandblast, showing off the briar's stunning array of distinguishable growth rings, the tightly stacked grain also yielding generous textural enjoyment. Needless to say, this is yet another great-looking pipe from Mummert that's certain to be the standout in any collection in which it's placed.