Jens Tao Nielsen (Tao)

Jens "Tao" Nielsen (b. 1943) is a Danish pipe maker who signs his pipes simply "Tao." He entered the trade late and by a roundabout path, then worked in the same vein for nearly half a century afterward. Though he trained in workshops of the Danish school, his work leans on classic proportion rather than the era's enthusiasm for free shapes; his name is most often associated with his interpretations in the bulldog family.

Apprenticeship in Copenhagen

Nielsen's youth was spent at sea. Deciding to stay on land after military service, he looked for work in Copenhagen: he stood at the counter of the Wilhelm Jørgensen pipe shop on Strøget street for roughly three and a half years. Among the signatures the shop sold was Erik Nørding; one day the maker offered him an apprenticeship. Nielsen thus moved behind the counter and worked in this workshop for two years.

The Svendborg Piber Partnership

He and Poul Ilsted Bech, whom he met at the same workshop, agreed immediately on style; both wanted to move away from the era's favored free molds and back toward measured, classic lines. When Henrik Jørgensen, then preparing to leave banking, joined them, a three-person partnership was formed. A closed pipe factory in Svendborg, on the island of Fyn, was taken over; the facility reopened for production under the name "Svendborg Piber" in 1970. Some sources give the founding year as 1972. Records indicate the building had belonged to the Nordic Pipe Factory, considered one of the country's oldest pipe facilities.

Regular orders from a German importer rapidly grew the business; reports indicate the staff reached seventeen. The partnership lasted around two years. Ilsted, who wanted to make individual pieces rather than mass production, left first; Nielsen, who fell into a disagreement with Jørgensen, withdrew soon after. Exactly when he moved entirely to working under his own name is unclear; secondary sources point to the very early 1980s.

The Gammelnyby Workshop

After the split, Nielsen ran a pipe shop at the Svendborg harbor for a few years. The town was at that time the center of the country's pipe trade; records indicate as many as five pipe makers had shops open there at once. The maker later moved to Gammelnyby, on the town's outskirts, and set up his workshop there. Since his annual output has stayed limited, his work is considered sought-after among collectors.

Style and Signature

Making large bowls in his early period, Nielsen shifted over time toward medium scale; what did not change was the stocky, solid stance of the chamber. The bulldog is the most-repeated mold of this approach; his apple interpretations are also known. His stems are hand-shaped; he works in black ebonite, cumberland, and amber-colored acrylic. A wide silver band is fitted at the stem end almost without exception — this is the maker's unvarying finishing habit. His stamp is a serrated arrow next to his name. His tie with Ilsted was never fully severed either; the two makers have occasionally produced joint pipes signed "Tao & Ilsted."