Xin Li Contrast Sandblasted Brandy Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Description

A graduate of industrial design and art history, Xin Li came to pipe-making by chance, after a mutual friend introduced him to the notable Chinese artisan Yang Zhimin. Xin and Yang quickly developed a rapport, in part because both had attended the prestigious China Academy of Art, and because both had an affinity for woodworking. Yang took Xin on as an apprentice in his workshop and, soon enough, this apprenticeship became a pipe-making partnership. For several years, Yang and Xin worked together in handcrafting pipes under Yang’s Zhiputang make. In 2019, Xin departed from the Zhiputang workshop and the partnership was amicably dissolved, with Xin moving on to create pipes under his own name, while Yang continued with Zhiputang.

As I mentioned in other recent listings, since his debut at MBSD Pipes, I’ve had a chance to speak more with Xin Li about his creative process. One thing that became very evident was a striving for balance in his compositions. One might even say that he has a Confucian design ethos—perhaps if J.T. Cooke hadn’t already claimed the taijitu, Xin could have adopted it as a logo. In any case, this contrast sandblast brandy is no exception. For one thing, unlike just about every brandy shape I’ve handled, this one is a sitter, which is a remarkable feat of engineering in itself. Despite being highly organic in shaping, following the styles of the later Scandinavian movement, it is also very carefully proportioned. It manages to walk the fine line between wild naturalism and a more human idea of order, with tremendous results.

 

Details:

Length: 4.5″ / 114.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.78 / 19.81mm

Bowl Depth: 1.44″ / 36.57mm

Weight: 1.7oz / 50g