American Estates: Alex Florov Sandblasted Billiard with Ivorite (2019) (Unsmoked) Tobacco Pipe

After a flourishing career in antiquities, Russian-born artisan Alex Florov moved to Chicago and worked as a model maker for several products. A dare by his father-in-law to make a pipe in 2004 then kicked off his current career and his pipes are among the most sought-after in the pipe community.

This compact Billiard from Florov is conservatively shaped and the first such shape to grace our site, estate or otherwise, in a number of years. Known for his bold, freestyle shaping, this Billiard remains classically shaped and is rendered in pocket-friendly proportions. The softly rounded bowl and shank display gentle contours and seamless lines, with a pale, striated band of Ivorite separating the stummel from the hand-cut, jet-black stem and lending further organicism to the composition. A well-executed tan sandblast does well to accentuate striking horizontal grain, with the rim left smooth for textural contrast. Unsmoked.