Zenia Queen, Handmade Pickaxe Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

Description

Zenia was a line of pipes made by Svend Axel Celius, one of the first generation of iconic carvers in the Danish style that emerged in the mid-20th century. Beginning his career under Poul Rasmussen and Sven Knudsen, Celius later started his own brand of pipes using his last name, while also occasionally carving pipes for Denmark’s famous pipe tobacconist W.Ø. Larsen. At some point during his solo career, Celius created a limited run of Zenia pipes, named after his daughter. Rather than being a sub-brand or seconds line, Celius’ Zenia pipes were an outlet for the Danish master to explore shapes and designs that he otherwise would not for his Celius brand. Often, these were more traditional English-French shapes, rather than typically Danish ones.

This Zenia pipe is quite like many of the designs Celius used for his Celius brand and even uses the same grading system as Celius pipes – in this case, Queen, being his second highest grade. As for the design, Celius may have chosen to include this one in the Zenia line given its similarity to the traditional (though somewhat uncommon) English-French ‘pickaxe’ shape, as seen, for example, in Dunhill’s ‘Quaint Pickaxe’ shape. It’s a nice interpretation of such a shape, if that is the case, while also bearing quintessentially Danish hallmarks in the bare plateau rim and elaborate stem. The sandblasting adds an extra ergonomic, as well as aesthetic, element, making the large bowl easier to grip while smoking.

The pipe is in great shape. I imagine with such a tall bowl, this one would be one heck of a flake pipe.

Details:

Length: 5.7″

Bowl Width: 22.4mm

Bowl Depth: 2″

Weight: 2.3oz / 67g