Smooth Elephant's Foot with Bamboo Tobacco Pipe

Tom Eltang's Elephant's Foot designs seem to have grown progressively more and more svelte over the years, as the carver has lent less of a pronounced sense of curve to the bowl's fore and aft, coupled with a more subtle sense of taper from rim to heel. This example is especially petite too, despite its nearly 6.5 inch length and relative to those that have come before, but this aspect is quite fitting given that it is paired to a near-Churchwarden shank extension comprising four knuckles of bamboo. The characteristically elongated design is well-served by a more compact bowl here, and it doesn't hurt that the design is as comforting and easy in hand as this one. In addition to all this, the carver's gorgeously warm contrast stain pairs wonderfully to the blonde hues of the bamboo, framed at the opposing end by a slender slip of downturned and tapered stem. A beautiful piece from a legendary carver.