Werner Mummert: Partially Sandblasted Bulldog Tobacco Pipe

Enigmatic, self-taught, and entirely original, the work of Werner Mummert is truly singular, the German artisan's four decades of experience as an engineering technician contributing to a style that's painstakingly precise and features expert drilling. Mummert's start in the pipe carving craft was fostered by his longing for more pipes and his relative lack of funds, buying a carving kit which he shaped with files and a Dremel, his pipe-smoking friends then contacting him to ask for their own thanks to his good work. Much of Mummert's inspiration lies outside of the pipe world, instead centering around modern art, Werner attending art or photo exhibitions as often as he can to find new sources of influence. This is something reflected well in his work, and in his Bulldog renditions especially, showcasing a stark, Brutalist angularity and industrial muscularity that speaks to the conventions of modern art.

This particular example is rather sleek, with a low-lying shank and stem that, while svelte compared to many of its siblings, maintains its sharp musculature throughout. The diamond shank here is incredibly crisp, with a quartet of ridges informing the shape, a pair of which flow through the shank and wrap up and around the flanks of the bowl before plunging into the heel at the fore. From here the two ridges meet at the extreme of the heel's fore, though they continue on the underside as a distinct pair, running all the way down the shank until they meet the saddle stem. Said stem is a jet-black vulcanite saddle that's here been accented with a broad band of smooth-finished briar stained a warm, light hue that matches a similarly stylized bit of briar at the shank end. Up front, the bowl takes on a nearly monolithic presence, standing atop a sharp heel and flaring out to a domed rim uninterrupted, bereft of its signature beadlines at first glance until the rim comes into view: Mummert has placed the pair directly on the rim near the outside edge. A ruddy auburn sandblast dresses the stummel with a wealth of texture, the ring grain through the bowl impeccably defined with strong, angular peaks and valleys, all while being starkly contrasted by the smooth briar at the aft, as well as the smooth finish of the rim.