Smooth Long Shank Bent Apple with Amboyna Burl (Cardinal) (A18) (12) Tobacco Pipe

Jody Davis excels at this elongated sort of shaping style, though we typically see it manifest itself in his tubular, easily flowing Dublin shapes. Here, he's employed said style with an elegant, slightly forward-reaching Danish disposition, juxtaposing a plump, well-rounded Apple bowl with a more crisp-lined, tightly framed shank and stem. The carver achieves this by way of an Ivarssonian teardrop line from the mortise face down into the heel of the bowl, allowing that implied ridge to travel nearly to the bowl's fore prior to its succinct termination. Finished with a warm walnut contrast accentuating a magnificent spread of flame and birdseye, the piece makes fine use of an accent of lighter amboyna burl, along with a gently down-turned saddle stem. A lovely exercise in playful, refined geometry.