Smooth Snail Tobacco Pipe

Ken Dederichs's style tends to fuse the elegant yet firm German school with a Tokutomi-esque organicism, and that combination is on display in this Snail shape. The upward flick of the shank end, the paneling of the bowl, and the long teardrop lines of the piece all serve to create a design that is at once well-structured and fluid of form. To top it off, it's been finished in a warm, smoldering contrast stain, which brings out some neatly-arranged flame at the flanks, as well as a whole lot of birdseye at the fore.