American Estates: J. Alan Partially Sandblasted Incubus (559) (2011) Tobacco Pipe

If you like a pipe with a terrific variety of elements that combine to make an impressively cohesive composition, this Incubus from J. Alan should attract your attention. It's primarily sandblasted, but a smooth panel runs from the end of the shank and its underside into the heel, and carries forward along the far side up to the edge of the rim. The ridgelines defining that panel are relatively soft in concert with the soft curvature of the rim, which drapes back in a long oval that drops toward the transition on the near side, meeting it high on the bowl, almost as high as the rim, and providing a particularly organic appeal. The end of the shank drops toward that transition as well for a well-balanced disposition, while the sides of the shank meet the bowl as if part of it. The growth rings are oriented at right angles to the lower ridgeline of the heel, which displays astonishing birdseye. The stem rises with a single, crisp expansion ring to a flat saddle bit offering excellent balance in the jaw. This is a distinctive pipe with loads of visual appeal for the most ardent of collectors.