Smooth Rhodesian with Bamboo (27/19) Tobacco Pipe

Chris Asteriou is a carver drawn to shapes that often showcase crisp, streamlined proportions with rounded, bulbous lines left to accent and enhance a piece. This bold-bodied Rhodesian, then, falls a bit outside of the fare we're used to seeing from Chris and makes for quite the eye-catching offering, as it's rounded, bulbous lines that define the majority of this piece. The profile is dominated by an incredibly hearty ferrule of bamboo, leading into an equally stout transition. It all gives way to a broad, muscular Rhodesian bowl, the downward taper slight and the underlying curve smooth and graceful, contrasting the piece's stolid proportions. The shape's iconic beadline is readily apparent, just above the transition to make way for the domed rim above, and it matches well with the crisp, uneven lines adorning the bamboo, they themselves adding a unique dose of asymmetry which the saddle portion of the stem echoes in its canted orientation. Stunning work from Chris.