Danish Estates: Nording Smooth Freehand (Extra) Tobacco Pipe

Erik Nørding is one of Denmark's most prolific, well-established carvers, entering the pipe world in the late 1950s and making a name for himself with the advent of the Fancy Freehand movement. Though this Freehand piece is stamped "Extra" it doesn't seem to be part of his Extra series, being presented absent any grade stamping or any of the expressive accents seen across the line. That being said, this pipe does showcase some handsome grain, with ample birdseye present across the left flank of its plump, Egg-like bowl, all beneath a rich, warm stain. The transition is wide, and it gives way to a subtly lifted, flaring shank that terminates in a wreath of plateau: matching the crown of plateau atop the rim.