English Estates: Ashton Brindle Panel with Silver (XXX) (1999) Tobacco Pipe

William Ashton-Taylor, the founder of the Ashton brand, began his pipe-making studies at a mere fifteen years of age as an assistant in Dunhill's workshop. He demonstrated great interest in and talent for the craft, which led him to move up through the ranks before he eventually left to start his own company. This Panel from Ashton's Brindle series is a rare and unusual find. While marque's iconic Brindle series is known for its brindle-patterned stems paired with sandblasted stummels, this pipe retains the sandblasted finish but lacks the series' signature brindle stem. Possessing a squat bowl almost as wide as it is tall, this Panel resembles a Pot whose bowl and shank have polygonal cross-sections. The bowl's four panels are joined to one another via wide corners — a design cue that continues into the shank and vulcanite stem. At the end of the shank, a silver band perforated with repeating rectangle and triangle motifs completes the polygon-themed ensemble. A dark, ochre-hued stain dresses the stummel, elegantly complementing the mouthpiece's inky black.