Yuwei: Sandblasted Volcano Tobacco Pipe

Taiwanese artisan Yuwei Huang is known to craft organic, sculptural pipes that show Danish and Japanese influences, yet his portfolio also comprises classic English shapes. This dynamic, active Volcano is a fine example of the former, its crisp line work and naturalistic disposition resulting in an intriguing interpretation.

This offering is a playful, asymmetrical piece, the full-bodied bowl displaying a taut, wavy and sloping rim that when viewed in profile seems to point upward at the fore. The lifting base of this Volcano is wrapped by a pronounced, crisp ridgeline that, too, seems to tilt, mirroring that of the rim. The lifting shank narrows from the transition, is pinched, then flares again into a smooth, teardrop-shaped face topped by a slender vulcanite stem of jet-black tones. A stylish expansion disc furls around in similar fashion to the shank end, a tasteful and precise touch from the skillful artisan. The stummel is dressed in an earthy sandblast, save for the rim and the shank end, showcasing stunning stacks of tightly stacked growth rings rising from the birdseye-flecked heel.