Xin Li Sandblasted Strawberry 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. That was certainly the case for the others in this most recent batch, but this one might just have outdone them. Many pipes, for example, we expect to be “sitters,” i.e., to stand up unaided. Pokers and cherrywoods are the most obvious shapes to come to mind, and it’s always a little bit disappointing when a rendition of one of these shapes isn’t a sitter. With Xin’s pipes, I find that even the most modern of shapes, such as this strawberry, possess a surprising and almost balletic quality in their ability to remain upright and level—albeit in a delightfully unorthodox way. Then again, it is less surprising when taking into account the sense of proportionality and coherence that Xin is able to bring to his overall designs, this one included.

 

Details:

Length: 4.7″ / 119.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.79 / 20.06mm

Bowl Depth: 1.33″ / 33.78mm

Weight: 2.0oz / 58g