Smooth Volcano (Gold) Tobacco Pipe

A shape we've seen very infrequently from the imaginative, Danish virtuoso, this Gold-graded, lightsome, and sparingly shaped piece from the likes of Peter Heding becomes simply the finest Volcano we're offering on our website currently, in my humble opinion, of course. The manner and degree in which the pipe's heel scoops up through the bowl's face, and the way it casts up and back through the shank suggests a buoyancy of design unusual, but most welcome, to the form. The stem maintains the liquidity of the composition by transitioning from the shank terminus with quiet ease, a slight bend, and even taper. The grain present is also quite good, particularly the straight grain on the pipe's left side, as well as the score of mottled bird's eye that runs across the belly of the piece.

-- Ted Swearingen