American Estates: Clarence Mickles Smooth Rhodesian (1998) Tobacco Pipe

Fashioned by the late Clarence Mickles, this muscular Rhodesian features a broad, low-slung bowl with a paneled heel and a protruding fore. The form's characteristic beadlines wrap around the top of the bowl, demarcating the domed rim from the rest of the stummel, while the lifted shank tapers gradually toward the arcing saddle stem of jet-black acrylic. The gentle curvature along the shank and stem nicely offsets the firm, structural qualities of the heavy-set bowl in profile, while also promoting a comfortable smoking posture. The stummel wears a smoky, chestnut-hued smooth finish that showcases pinpricks of birdseye across the rim and top of the shank.