Celius "Fantasy" Sandblasted Bent Dublin Freehand

Celius "Fantasy" Sandblasted Bent Dublin Freehand
Among Celius's many talents was his recognition, and thorough mastery, of sandblasting. This technique was not held in high regard by Danish carvers of the era, who regarded it as a way to salvage a pipe with a flaw that would prevent them from becoming a high-value straight grain. But Celius, like Dunhill before him and J. T. Cooke after him, realized the inherent virtues of this finish, and the drama and interest it brings to a pipe. But he combined this understanding with a wonderfully creative yet disciplined design sense, one which conveyed him securely from the purely classical to the modern and edgy. This pipe falls somewhere in between. It has a gentle Dublin bowl, cut slightly on the bias at the rim and flattened at the bottom. But then there is that sculptured shank with distinct wasp waist and "windblown" shoulder, into which one of Celius's signature faceted and lathe-ornamented taper bits with extra long tenon inserts military style. The bowl is completely surrounded in crisp ring grain, and has the rich double stain of the early Dunhill. It's in first rate condition in all regards.