AKB Meerschaum: Carved Elephant Sitter with Silver (Mcinar) (with Case) Tobacco Pipe

An ever-popular pipe making material and a prevalent predecessor of briar throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, meerschaum is a medium prized for its flavor-neutral smoking properties and unique ability to patinate as it's smoked. Meerschaum is also immune to "ghosting" — absorbing a specific tobacco's flavor — making it idea for sampling a variety of different blends. A porous mineral more scientifically known as sepiolite, its common name comes from the German word for "sea foam," and is a reference to the naturally pale white coloration of the material. Its relative ease of carving while moist allows for the rendering of highly figural, sculptural pipes that are rich with detail, and this is something that Turkish workshop AKB, short for Ali Karim Bey, prides themselves on. Carved from solid-block meerschaum sourced directly from mines in Turkey, their pipes are handmade by artisans like Tekin, Mcinar, Yusuf, and I. Baglan. AKB's repertoire doesn't exclusively include figural pieces, however, as they're equally talented in rendering both traditional forms and modern classics. Displaying that skill and quality is this carved elephant figural by Mcinar, paired with an acrylic stem, accented with silver, and completed by a custom-made hard case. -John McElheny