Smooth Billiard with Mammoth Tobacco Pipe

A readily recognizable Billiard, this pipe was fashioned by Tom Eltang and personifies the Danish carver's personal style. When Tom crafts classic Billiard shapes, he often heightens the bowl somewhat more than would be typical of a traditional English interpretation of the design — not to Stack-like proportions, but noticeably taller compared in relation to the shank and stem combination. Likewise, this piece showcases Eltang's penchant for supple roundness about the bowl, informed by the tight-knit transition. To balance the arrow-straight shank and stem, the bowl is poised at a slight forward cant, easing the profile for a natural disposition that suits the lines and keeps this piece firmly planted in classic shaping cues. With a subtly inflated rim, it's a traditionally Danish take on the form, and the grain orientation is spectacular underneath Tom's iconic contrast stain: Perfect birdseye adorns the flanks, informed by concise cross grain fore and aft. To accent, the stem base is banded with mammoth, the mix of cream, caramel, and onyx tones beautifully contrasting the red-tinged stain of the stummel.