Bill Shalosky: Partially Sandblasted Bent Dublin with Kingwood (504) Tobacco Pipe

While Bill Shalosky most often executes Dublins with sinuous curvature through the shank and heel, here he has provided a more angular form, with the transition riding low and the bowl perched above, and an acute backward tilt to the near flank accentuating the angularity. The shank expands as it leaves the transition, maintaining a gentle curve in profile, and terminates in a flattened end that also curves toward the bowl but in nearly subliminal magnitude. The underside of the shank is smooth, displaying a wide and long swath of birdseye, and the slightly concave inner rim is also smooth, easing into plateau texture as it expands outward. The blast is craggy and reveals undulating growth rings on both shank and bowl, and the stylized saddle mouthpiece is dual-toned vulcanite, flattened admirably for comfort and bent in harmony with the shaping of each element of this remarkable composition.