Smooth Fish with Camel Bone Tobacco Pipe

A man obsessed with fine pipes since the age of six, Tom Eltang has become one of the most prolific artisan carvers in the world, his nearly five-decade-long career and commitment to both functional and aesthetic perfection earning him a stellar reputation in the pipe world. His breadth of experience includes apprenticing under Anne-Julie at only 16 years old, repairing pipes for Pipe-Dan, and working as a traveling carver for Stanwell, all the while carving pipes of his own. His work comprises a variety of shapes, all in his Danish Functionalist-inspired style, but this Fish is an excellent example of Danish artisan pipe design.

Originally conceived by Lars Ivarsson, the Fish comprises an Egg-like bowl paired to a teardrop-shaped shank with a ridge that runs from the point of the tear to the rim. There's a subtle asymmetry which possesses the shape, even in its most basic forms, and that is something which Eltang has elevated here, leveraging his practiced hand and keen grasp on subtle line work to accentuate its presence and imply some movement. A demurely curved saddle stem ebbs out of the shank here, nestling into a face that's been fitted with an accent of camel bone, its surface lightly domed and sloped into the mortise area to imply softness. At the left flank we see the point of the teardrop line, the right remaining rounded and lifting just a touch higher than its opposite, lending the entire shank a slight twist, as if the tail of this fish were actively swimming away.

Given this shaping decision, the ridge that flows forward from the point of the teardrop line is situated quite low on the shank, outlining the left side of the stummel. Past the transition and into the flank of the bowl, the ridge turns upward swiftly, slowly wavering as it rises to meet the rim and infusing the bowl with a bit of skyward momentum. Said bowl is shaped similarly to Eltang's bent Eggs, though there's a bit more emphasis placed on the curves here, with some slight accentuation of the bowl's height and trajectory. The walls are plump and softly curved, working well with the wide transition to offer a comfortable feel in hand, and the overall sinuous nature of the silhouette here makes for a pipe that draws the eye to its supple curves. Dressing the briar of this piece is one of Tom's signature contrast stains, revealing tight flickers of flame grain surrounding the bowl and running through the flanks of the shank, while the top and underside are both awash with swirling vortices of birdseye.