The Northern Briar Scream

cosmicfolklore · Feb 13, 2014

I just wanted to share this wee bit of Fine Art embedded into this rare Northern Briar Regal Churchwarden that my girlfriend gave me recently. A churchwarden isn't exactly the style of pipe that I would select for myself, as I almost always clench my pipe and just meld into the briar, linking one on one with the spirit of the tobacco. But, when she snuck off to the Briary to pick a pipe out for me, knowing I am a clencher, she selected this warden, knowing it was of the handheld variety. Of course, I was pleased. Any pipe related gift meant that she accepted my hobby, encouraging my interest.

I have been smoking it. Its our movie pipe, giving me almost three hours of smoke in its huge deep bowl. However, last night I was really looking at the pattern on the Cumberland stem. And, low and behold, I knew that image...

Tell me if I'm wrong, but is that not the figure found in Edvard Munch's 1893 paint, The Scream? I have two theories...

First Theory, George Walker of Northern Briars, purposefully formed that Cumberland with skill that rivals Michelangelo or Davinci. Bringing the idea of Northern Germanic Expressionism of the 19th century, specifically this painting, referencing the angst ridden imagery in this work. Creating a pipe made for stress relief, making this an icon of the anxieties of modern man, further blurring the lines between form and function...
Or (second theory), the pipe is going to be gurgler :|
What do you think?

cobguy · Feb 13, 2014

Lol ... very cool Cosmic!
At first glance I thought it may have been Jack Skellington!

jarit · Feb 13, 2014

Wow, the similarity is unearthly!

cosmicfolklore · Feb 13, 2014

I know, right? I've been smoking this since Christmas, just seeing the grain and thinking "fire" with the grain of the wood going up into the stemwork. But, now that I've noticed this, it's all I see now on the pipe, LOL.

ssjones · Feb 13, 2014

I'm not sure about "The Scream" but that sure is a distinctive pipe! I don't recall seeing a Churchwarden with a Cumberland stem, but that combination sure works! What a thoughtful gift.

blueeyedogre · Feb 13, 2014

Its possessed!!! By the Devil, not lakelands!! :twisted:

petes03 · Feb 13, 2014

Wow, it really does resemble The Screamer! Pretty cool!

blindmansleeps · Feb 13, 2014

Cosmic, that pipe is absolutely beautiful.

grouchydog · Feb 13, 2014

Wow, that's eerie.... I saw "The Scream" in it before I scrolled to the painting...

agnosticpipe · Feb 13, 2014

That is too cool! I showed the pipe to my wife and asked her what she saw, and within 5 sec. she said the painting of the screaming person. What a hoot, or should I say scream. Let's just hope you continue to enjoy it and it won't haunt your dreams... :lol:

tinpan · Feb 13, 2014

My kid, painting this when he was five and bringing it home after art class, told me it was an alien spaceship landing and killing zombies. Hmmm...now I know

yaddy306 · Feb 13, 2014

Great example of pareidolia!
At least the face is on the underside of the stem. That would freak me out to have that face staring back at me while smoking!

cortezattic · Feb 13, 2014

Thanks for posting. :clap: That's a very beautiful pipe. Looks like it encourages relaxation and reflection.

cosmicfolklore · Feb 13, 2014

Thanks guys, it is a beauty of a pipe, fitting perfectly into the hand as it wraps around the bowl, with just enough distance to focus my eyes on the wisps if smoke coming out. It's definitely not a dainty churchwarden with a small bowl in the fingers. Ahh, and the aroma of this massive aged briar, delicious. I wouldn't normally go for a warden, but I've really grown to like the smoking style. Not that I want a whole rack of them, definitely not, but it's good to have one pipe that was designed for the release of the day's angst, as in a day's end Scream.
The imagery adds to the reflection, for certain. The funniest comments that I got when I posted it on Facebook were those that wanted to reassure me that the image in the Cumberland was accidental, not intentional by the artist. I love it when I'm taken seriously at the wrong times :wink:

teufelhund · Feb 13, 2014

I guess your pipe has a ghost... :nana: Sorry about that.

teufelhund · Feb 13, 2014

Oops! Load error... Sorry for the double post.

pjhicks · Feb 19, 2014

Very interesting pattern in that stem. I love Cumberland stems! Just bought a Northern Briar myself and am impressed with the quality in a relatively inexpensive pipe. Congrats to you on having a significant other who supports your hobby.

misterlowercase · Oct 28, 2014

How did I ever miss this????
That's the coolest thing I've ever seen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously,

it is very cool!
You have a great eye.
Thanks for noticing it and sharing it with us.
Big bonus that the pipe is badass too!
The one time I've been overseas was to visit Sweden, my sister decided last minute to join me and I got both our tickets - then her boyfriend decided he wanted to go too, but at last min he ended up paying alot more for airfare. Anyway, he's a cool cat, an oil painter and he loved Munch so my original plan got compromised with the fact he wanted to visit the Munch museum in Oslo, I wasn't exactly stoked because I've never been a big Munch fan, but I was okay with it --- we drove a rented Peugeot from Gothenburg up to Oslo --- but the thing is, I had our trip all planned out well in advance, had reservations at a cool cabin hostel etc etc but he hadn't given any forethought to the Oslo part at all, I couldn't believe he had just decided to "wing it" LOL I was a little pissed because after a very long drive (the Pug was a stick, on which I insisted, but neither of them drive a manual so driving duty was all me!) we get there and there's a damn hotel strike in the whole city, not a room to be had anywhere, it was absolutely crazy, and it was already late at night.
We got sketchy directions to a nearby town, well, we got lost and I was tired and frustrated and just turned down a random road and we were in a dense thick forest at around 11:00 pm and I turned down a small gravel road for a few hundered yards, turned off the car, and just sat there --- it was totally dark, and it was the most profound silence I've ever experienced, I had gotten out to take a breather, and it was so quiet, dead quiet, with beautiful stars glistening thru treetop on a crisp chilly evening --- it was helping me relax but they started freaking out after a few minutes and insisted we split LOL like they were scared ugly Scandinavian Deathmetal heads were gonna abduct us or something!
To make a short story even longer,

we finally made it to the Munch museum, (as well as visiting Vigeland Park to see the intense sculptures), and after seeing Munch's work in the flesh it was like magic, I mean like real magic, I was stunned and overcome with emotion, his work made a huge impact on me and I'll never forget it.
...this is Vigeland,

i8ball · Oct 28, 2014

i love it that pipe just shows that each one is a piece of art that cant be redone perfectly the same.

cosmicfolklore · Oct 28, 2014

Thanks, nice pics and story MLC!

Yeh, this is one of my favorite end of day pipes. Huge bowl that fits my hand and I can watch the smoke stream up as I keep the fire going, like a balancing act. It's like a real tool, big enough to clunk someone with, yet such a delicate work of art also. When I smoke it, the proportions remind me of smoking a Native American pipe. You just have to hold it and focus, which is very different from clenching and breath smoking. Almost didgeridoo-ish, ha ha!

The Northern Briar Scream

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