Lasse Skovgaard Sandblasted Brandy Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

Description

Danish pipe-making is notable not only for its masters, but its dynasties. The most famous is, of course, Sixten Ivarsson and his son Lars Ivarsson and granddaughter Nanna Ivarsson; but there is also Anne Julie, her son Bernhard Julie, and her grandson Johannes “Suhr” Rasmussen; Ib Loran and his daughter Tine Loran; Kurt Balleby and his daughter Tine Balleby. The list goes on. And it would not be complete without a mention of Lasse Skovgaard Jorgensen, the son of WO Larsen alum and carver of its Straight Grain pipes, Benni Jorgensen. Lasse himself made WO Larsen pipes as a teenager and debuted his solo work in 2004. In the years since, he has become such a renowned figure on the international high-grade scene that his parentage is an afterthought, if a thought at all.

This is the first Lasse Skovgaard pipe I’ve had a chance to become personally acquainted with, though not through lack of trying. I enjoy his work greatly, but as an estates seller, it’s really a matter of chance what will come through the door. Anyway, I was certainly not disappointed. This one is a great representation of one aspect of Lasse’s work in particular: shaping. The finishing is immaculate, of course, with an exceptional ring grain sandblast, but the form is what’s most interesting. I’ve called it a brandy for simplicity’s sake (and to appease the algorithm gods), but it has a far more organic quality to it, resulting in something that looks—and this is perhaps a great irony of woodworking—like it is, or was, alive. It is bulbous, squat, slightly asymmetrical, with an concave rim that seems to “open” itself like an orifice. Overall, it has an almost Cronenbergian look to it, while at the same time possessing a great, albeit strange, beauty.

-J.M.

The condition is great. Some minor, inner rim darkening.

 

Details:

Length: 5.2″ / 132.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.74″ / 18.79mm

Bowl Depth: 1.46″ / 37.08mm

Weight: 2.3oz / 66g