Ray Kurusu: Smooth Windshield Nosewarmer Billiard with Boxwood Tobacco Pipe

A design we've seen several times before from Ray Kurusu, this Windshield Nosewarmer Billiard combines classic English shaping cues with the Japanese carver's signature aesthetic. Lovers of vintage English pipes, specifically Dunhill, will immediately recognize the bowl's shape — hearkening back to Alfred Dunhill's Windshield design which featured a raised fore to protect the chamber from wind as motorists smoked while driving. The rest of the piece, however, fits more into Kurusu's iconic style, featuring plump, rounded proportions and his signature shank end and stem motif: The shank end being slanted and topped with boxwood, the angle perfectly echoed by the base of the stem which has also been wrapped with an extra-trim ring of boxwood. Furthermore, Ray has shaped this piece to orient plateau along the left flank of the bowl, adding textural diversity and incorporating an organic element into the rather classic bowl profile.