Werner Mummert: Sandblasted Lovat Tobacco Pipe

Enigmatic German artisan Werner Mummert crafts some of the most distinctive profiles in all of modern pipe design, with an incredibly broad stylistic range that draws influence from architecture, modern art, and Bauhaus furniture design. Of course, he's also inspired by the various schools of pipe design from around the world as well, so it's only appropriate that he should craft iconic designs from these schools in his own style. Enter this Lovat: a shape that we've seen a fair few times from Mummert, but that's rather uncommon to find among his other reimaginings of classics, but that stands out as being more understated in its styling.

The silhouette of this piece is quite classic overall, retaining all of the elements that have made the Lovat shape a timeless example of Anglo-French design, with an extended length of shank and a trim saddle stem balancing the Billiard bowl up front. Here the stem has been even further shortened than in English renditions of the shape, with an extremely short bit that swiftly reaches the button, its reach comparable to that of the base. A wide, cheeked transition marks the start of the shank, which here has been extended a touch more than would be seen in more traditional renditions, and that's possessed of an extremely subtle flare through to the stem base. A striking display of precision in Mummert's work, this understated detail works to further balance the bowl's visual weight. At the bowl, we see a rather broad, rounded base support the walls as they gradually taper to the rim, taking on a dynamic forward cant as they reach upward and imbuing this piece with a slight bit of momentum that both draws the eye forward and further sets it apart from others that share its profile. One of Mummert's signature sandblasts dresses the stummel here, stained a light tan and revealing dense, highly textural ring grain across the bowl, while the shank sees growth rings cascading down its length at an angle. This not only adds a good deal of structure to the piece, but its palette contrasts sharply with the stem's light violet hues, and the vibrant orange, purple, and white of its accent at the base.