Smooth Acorn with Bamboo and Mastodon Ivory (One Snail) Tobacco Pipe

One of only a handful of Acorn shaped pieces we've seen from Tokutomi over the years, this is a quiet, harmonious composition from the master carver. The bowl is small and nimble, with quick, easy transitions from rim to flank, and from heel to shank, making for a smaller pipe that's rather soft in the hand. Additionally, this particular cut of briar is awash in highly defined and excellently contrasted straight grain. Inserted between two wafers of ancient mastodon ivory, you'll find a couple knuckles worth of very fine Japanese bamboo of a light hue, a combination that exquisitely balances the entire presentation. All in all it's an exceptional specimen, and most deserving of Tokutomi's One Snail grade.

-- Ted Swearingen