Preben Holm Crown Extra Large Smooth Spiral Carved Freehand Sitter (Estate)

Though he would tragically pass away at the age of 42, Preben Holm was one of the pioneering figures in the “Danish design” movement in 20th century pipe-making—a movement that still dominates the high-grade pipe scene. By hand-shaping his pipes on a belt sander, Holm was able to make the most of the patterns of grain hidden within briar, creating spectacular works of pipe art that also happened to be exceptional smokers. Holm’s work was so popular, in fact, that he not only put out pipes under numerous makes (such as Wengholt, Monte Verdi, Rungsted), but was also contracted by pipe shops and companies around the world to make pipes for them. Dunhill had Holm produce pipes for the Harcourt make, and Lane Ltd.’s Charatan had him make Ben Wade pipes, at a time when Charatan itself was already at the pinnacle of its freehand output. All of this was achieved in the span of around 25 years, before Holm’s untimely passing, and his pipes remain firm favorites among casual pipe smokers and die-hard collectors to this day.

It’s hard to say whether “chasing the grain” is more difficult when working with a bowl shape that is simple versus one that is complex. Both classic shapes and modern ones present their own challenges for achieving a good, consistent patterning without sacrificing any sense of form entirely. But you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise when examining Preben Holm’s pipes. In the case of this one, it belongs to the Crown series, whose designs were especially baroque, even within Holm’s portfolio. These were pipes defined by furls, furrows, lips, and twists, all while making sure to leave space for the underlying beauty of the briar used to make itself known. One can see a rather elaborate spiral carved motif weaving across the bowls’ vertical grain patterning, for example, which extends right the way to the pipe’s ebonite mouthpiece, which similarly incorporates a warping at its base.

The condition is very good. Some inner rim darkening, slight handling marks, and minor oxidation on the mouthpiece.

Details:

Length: 6.9″ / 175.2mm

Bowl Width: 0.90 / 22.86mm

Bowl Depth: 2.08″ / 52.83mm

Weight: 3.3oz / 94g