Ed Burak Connoisseur Smooth “Swoop” Horn Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Known as the “dean of American pipe designers” Ed Burak was not a pipe maker per se. Rather, Burak was someone who worked with the master carvers of his time to bring his distinct ideas of what a pipe could be to life. As the owner of the Connoisseur Pipe Shop, Burak designed freehand pipes so singularly representative of pipe making as an artistic endeavor, that many of the resulting works ended up in New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

When most pipe makers design a horn shape, inspiration comes from the animal kingdom or, at the very least, from objects that are already derived from animal horns, such as drinking vessels. Ed Burak was different; his horns were not of the keratin kind, but the brass, and specifically brass musical instruments. Many of his designs had a musical theme like that, from his bells, to his saxophones, and to the many horn renditions he designed during his lifetime.

This particular pipe is one of Burak’s signature designs, known as the “Swoop,” and as one can see, it has both a recognizably horn-like figure, “swooping” curvature that flows right up to the end of the bowl, before folding back upon itself like a wave breaking against the rocks. Burak was clearly quite proud of the Swoop, as it was one that he returned to a number of times during his lifetime, and displayed at shows to represent his art. As can be seen from the photos, the chamber is very unusual for a briar pipe, as it is neither conical nor cylindrical, but funneled.

This pipe is completely unsmoked. There a couple of very minor, natural imperfections in the briar and some scratches inside the chamber, the latter possibly being a result of the technique used to funnel the chamber.

Details:

Length: 7.4″ / 187.9mm

Bowl Width: 1.24 / 31.49mm

Bowl Depth: 1.38″ / 35.05mm

Weight: 1.3oz / 38g