American Estates: Jody Davis Sandblasted Lovat with Mammoth (Friar) (C) (72) (2006) Tobacco Pipe

Jody Davis, in addition to being an accomplished musician, is also a venerated pipe maker who fashions some of the finest briars in America. Like many American artisans, Jody Davis tends to fashion relatively compact designs that emphasize muscular proportions over length, making this rather slender and lengthy Lovat something of an outlier within his portfolio. As is typical for the shape, this piece finds an upright Billiard bowl standing at the fore of an elongated shank and a trim saddle stem. The shank-and-stem arrangement's reduced diameter keeps this piece lightweight in hand and streamlined in profile. The bowl's rounded contours conform naturally to the hand, and the wide transition leaves plenty of space to drape a digit. It's handsomely presented in dark sandblast that unveils rippling growth rings along the bowl's flanks. An accent of mammoth adorns the shank end and ties the entire composition together with a touch of vibrancy.