Doctor's: Smooth Horn with Bamboo and Boxwood (Grand Flash) Tobacco Pipe

A true Renaissance man, Roman Kovalev is not only an incredibly skilled artisan pipe maker but also a neurologist, race-car builder, distiller, and coffee connoisseur. The Russian carver's pipe-making style is also quite unique as he's renowned for his distinctive bamboo shank extensions and incorporating non-traditional accenting materials and alternative mediums in his work. Roman's creative inclusion of eccentric bamboo has set him apart from other carvers, making each Doctor's pipe easily recognizable with each one being utterly unique and always spectacular.

This highly gestural Horn is one of the most dramatic and impressive renditions of the shape I've ever come across. The way the bowl continually flares from out of the trim shank is fascinating, with its strong forward cant balanced by the upward curling shank and the gracefully arching stem. The grain around the stummel is gorgeous, with the light, naturalesque stain highlighting the pristine nature of this briar block and adding definition to the fine strands of grain that flow across the bowl's flanks. For a hint of texture, the briar's natural plateau is oriented along the bowl's fore, with a rugged patch drifting slightly over onto the rim's surface. Even more ruggedness and texture is supplied by the bamboo shank extension, which is shaped to seamlessly continue the shank's upward trajectory. The bamboo's craggy knuckles are intriguing beneath the finger pads, offering wonderful texture and feature accenting boxwood nodules. What also makes this piece noteworthy and a standout within Roman's vast portfolio is that it earned his incredibly rare "Grand Flash" stamp, his highest grade. Kovalev produces only two to three pieces each year worthy of such a stamp, making this composition all the more desirable.