At first blush, this lovely Manduela bulldog seems the height of classicism. That beautifully long run of shank, however, adds just a hint of the canadian/lovat family, as well that ever-so-slight fascination that comes from playing with proportionality. Manduela's art stands apart from the work of many of her Danish colleagues in quite a few ways. Perhaps the most immediately striking is her ability to introduce a heretofore unseen combination of hues and materials that are as attractive as they are unconventional. In the case of this 'classic, redefined', Manduela combines a walnut/burgundy stain with a cerulean ebonite stem that contains a perfectly wrought bone inlay. When we first introduced Manduela a bit back, one of the pipes that she presented would be considered a close cousin to this amazing piece, and that pipe flew to its new home in short order. Larger and (in my opinion) and more intriguing, I have little doubt that this striking briar will follow suit.

Bear Graves