Mehmet Bassav Medusa Carved Estate Block Meerschaum Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

In the world of meerschaum, even more so than the world of briar, having one’s name put on one’s works is a privilege granted to very few carvers. Only those who have risen through the ranks of Turkey’s many meerschaum workshops and proved themselves as among the very best in the craft are granted that right, which typically takes form of a quite literal “signing” of the pipe itself. For every Baki, Kenan, Sabri, or Tekin, there are hundreds of craftsmen who will remain anonymous to those who enjoy their work.

Mehmet Başsav is considered one of Turkey’s greatest meerschaum carvers, having worked in the industry for over 5 decades. He is well known for his figural creations, especially busts of historic and fictional persons. In fact, his workshop is but one room in a museum for meerschaum artistry in the heart of Eskişehir, the Mehmet Başsav Meerschaum Culture and Art House. If one visits the area, one can stop by and browse half a century’s worth of meerschaum mastery, in the form of hundreds of Başsav pipes and sculptures.

This particular pipe is one of Başsav’s celebrated figural works, one whose subject is rather appropriate given the medium it is carved from. After all, it is a bust of the Gorgon Medusa of Ancient Greek art and mythology, whose gaze turned onlookers to stone, before she was defeated (and beheaded) by the cunning of Perseus. The Medusa has, of course, been the subject of the sculptural arts for millennia, which makes her inclusion in Başsav’s portfolio even more fitting. As one should expect, Başsav’s rendition is meticulously carved, juxtaposing the Medusa’s soft, disarming, yet slightly wry countenance with the nest of snakes surrounding it.

This pipe is completely unsmoked and comes with its original case.

Details:

Length: 6.4″ / 162.5mm

Bowl Width: 0.90 / 22.86mm

Bowl Depth: 1.92″ / 48.76mm

Weight: 2.8oz / 82g