Ceramic Dragon Pipes

These exquisite pipes are made with two simple materials that go back thousands of years in Ecuador: clay and bamboo. Each pipe starts as a piece of bamboo, which is sanded down and polished. From there, the internal structure is created with more bamboo, and held in place by the first pieces of clay. Then a small coconut from the sierra is put in place to hold the tobacco. (Two more coconuts are added at the mouthpieces of the double pipes.) Finally, the pipe can be decorated. Seeds, stones and all sorts of embellishments can be added because the clay we use, masilla, does not need to be fired at high temperatures to dry. The last step is painting: multiple coats are put on each piece, employing a technique that's been in use in South America for nearly 500 years that was originally developed for art in cathedrals. Each of these pipes was made with two bright red seeds for the dragons' eyes.