Smooth Bent Egg with Horn Tobacco Pipe

Compared to his other renditions of the bent Egg, this piece from Tom Eltang is considerably more dramatic and extravagant in its shaping and use of accenting materials. The Danish carver's typical bent Egg often opts for more balanced proportions and a more reserved sinuosity. By contrast, this example takes those aspects to the extreme, leaning into exaggerated proportions and dynamic gesture in order to draw focus to this pipe's key elements. The elongated shank-and-stem combination displays a stretched fluidity that draws the eye toward the tall, slightly rounded, upright bowl, exuding a floral, bulb-like disposition that fits well with the profile's organic curvature — like a flower bud about to blossom on the end of a curling tree branch. The bowl, then, reveals a stunning cross-grain pattern in Eltang's recognizable, ruby-tinged contrast stain. Most distinctive about this particular bent Egg, however, is the very long piece of horn extending the shank. Tom has used the section's slightly curving shape to inform this piece's dramatic S-curve, and its extra length plays with the standard proportions of Eltang's other renditions. It makes for a composition that pays as much attention to the briar as it does the accenting material — a slightly different visual focus than for most pipes, and one that's welcomed and well earned by this piece.