C-Pipe Smooth Deep Contrast Panel Lumberman Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Description

Not unlike certain 20th century Western pipe making institutions, such as Charatan, Pibe-Dan, or WO Larsen, a number of workshops in China have emerged in the 21st century filled with artisans working under a single banner. This includes GH Zhang, Qi Pipe Studio, and C-Pipe. With C-Pipe, however, there is something of a difference. Founded by former architect and lifelong pipe collector YiGang Wang, C-Pipe is a workshop of around a dozen artisans, most of whom originally came to pipe making from fields such as fine art and industrial design. While there are clear influences on C-Pipe’s output from various post-war schools, the workshop’s style is as varied as the individuals who work there. The resulting pipes reflect a synthesis of collective and individual creative endeavors, following a model closer to the ones pursued by Scandinavian post-war institutions, and which made artisan pipes what they are today.

This particular pipe is an example of what has become something of a signature shape for Shanghai’s C-Pipe studio, though keen eyed pipe history buffs will recognize a clear precedent and influence on its design: Poul Ilsted. Ilsted was one of the all-time greats of post-war Danish pipe making and his output, though versatile, was marked by a great affinity for faceted shapes, with some even calling him the “master of facets.” In the years since Ilsted’s rise to prominence, and indeed since his recent passing, his work has inspired artisans around the globe, especially in their use of flattened planes and sharp edges in designs that would not ordinarily feature them. Here we find a C-Pipe lumberman rendition that instantly calls to mind the way Ilsted would often approach his billiard and apple shapes, though in this instance, much of the muscularity that also accompanied Ilsted’s shaping has been eschewed in favor of a much trimmer, lighter figure. The finishing is also far more vibrant than the works of someone like Ilsted, pairing the shape with an extraordinarily deep contrast that makes every single surface of the stummel into a veritable canvas.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.74 / 18.79mm

Bowl Depth: 1.53″ / 38.86mm

Weight: 1.2oz / 36g