Carved Dragon Claw Holding Vase (Ali) (with Case) Tobacco Pipe

Most often seen with Egg-shaped bowls, meerschaum renditions of dragon's claws holding a pipe bowl are a common variant. For this piece, though, AKB has produced a lattice-carved vase with a ginger taper to its walls toward the rim, the entirety held sharply upright by a muscular wrist, with the talons clutching the vase tightly. The pale stummel will darken and take on personality as it is smoked over the coming years, gradually matching the warm, amber hues of the acrylic mouthpiece.