Werner Mummert: Sandblasted Poker Tobacco Pipe

The Poker is a shape that German artisan Werner Mummert returns to with some frequency, but his interpretations vary wildly in appearance and design. This particular rendition is especially distinctive, as it features subtle paneling along the fore and aft sides of the bowl. These facets give the bowl the appearance of two reuleaux triangles fused together when viewed from above, with the fore and aft converging at equidistant points. The ridgelines that typically accompany paneled shapes are almost imperceptible here, more felt than seen, so when viewed in profile, the bowl appears round. This optical-illusion-as-pipe motif is one that Mummert often employs, but it is something of a rarity to see him implement it with the Poker. Like most interpretations of the shape, the heel is flattened and ensures stable sitting, but the rim is wavy and undulating, creating a visual juxtaposition between the top and bottom of the bowl. It's all dressed in one of Mummert's extra-craggy sandblasts, which brings vivid definition to the briar and draws out rippling waves of growth rings that stack up all sides of the bowl.