G. Penzo: Partially Sandblasted Leaf with Bamboo (A) Tobacco Pipe

Since 2015, Smokingpipes has held the American Pipe Making Exposition, a celebration of America's finest artisans who gather together a bespoke selection of their best work, all revolving around a central theme. For 2024, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Expo, Smokingpipes has expanded participation to include entrants from around the world in what will henceforth be known as the Global Pipe Making Exposition. Fittingly, 2024's theme is bamboo, the same as the first Expo, and it's an opportunity for carvers worldwide to show off their most inventive, innovative compositions.

Giacomo Penzo's Leaf shape is one of the artisan's signatures, and it highlights his skill in crafting pipes that evoke a balanced organicism, taking inspiration from its namesake to create a unique silhouette. This particular iteration of the shape is especially organic, standing out among Penzo's other Leafs by being paired to a length of bamboo and displaying an expressive asymmetry. The Leaf shape is essentially a modified Dublin that can be either bent or straight, though its bowl has been stylized with a more expansive flare that terminates in a broad, ovoid bowl reminiscent of a leaf in nature. Here, Penzo has further stylized the bowl, dramatizing the flare further and creating a lenticular rim with distinct points at both the fore and aft, while simultaneously curving the entire structure to the left. A firm, softly pointed heel supports the bowl, and it's paired to a short shank via a tight transition, the shank itself taking on a slight taper before reaching a length of bamboo and extending its reach significantly. Comprising two knuckles of the dense grass, this extension curls up and meets a sleek saddle stem of black vulcanite, one whose base has been stylized to resemble another knuckle of bamboo that's spaced out naturally to mimic the rhythm of its organic counterpart. Additionally, small divots in the surface of the bamboo are continued through part of both the shank and the stem, stylistically joining three disparate components into a cohesive composition. The stummel is dressed in a crisp, natural sandblast that reveals broad seas of blasted birdseye across the fore and aft walls, while the firm lines of the middle area are lined with rippling growth rings. The rim is finished smooth, however, dressed in a dark, rich stain and glossy top coat that displays a fanning pattern of cross grain that stretches from one end to the other: its dark complexion matching both the bamboo and the stem.