Unexpected Polish freehand

November 2016

Even in the twenty-first century, the briar tobacco pipe can challenge the pipe makers. This is proven by, among other things, this design by the Polish maker Zbigniew Bednarczyk, to be precise from the place Przemysl. Starting from a traditional type of tobacco pipe, he created a new product characterized by unexpected geometric shapes. He got that result by swiveling around a thick-walled tobacco pipe, creating a completely new silhouette that makes the pipe different from every angle. To achieve an exciting contrast between tige and stem, a slightly tinted piece of driftwood was added as a fixation point between the dark red-stained pipe and the black acrylic mouthpiece. In the tige the pipe bears the ZIBI brand, as the pipe maker carries with the addition of freehand to indicate the style of the pipe. Zbigniew was clearly proud of his creation. Before the pipe was sold, various photos of it were placed in Polish magazines for pipe smokers. The fact that the pipe eventually ended up in a Dutch collection was mainly due to the pricing. This special creation was far too expensive for the average Polish pipe smoker.

Amsterdam Pipe Museum APM 22.200

Archive object of month