Askwith: Rusticated Cherrywood Tobacco Pipe

This is quite a bold Cherrywood from Chris Askwith, whose stylistic endeavors include modernizing classic forms via alternative materials and colorful palettes, along with often playful shaping. The hearty bowl with its flattened heel offers a slight cinch along the middle before sprouting upward into a flared rim of craggy plateau, the entirety of which bolsters a forward-canting posture in profile. Out back, the shank extends from a rather high-set transition, tapering and arcing toward the bit before taking a gentle downturn. A delightful design from the English carver, it's dressed in a rather rugged, dark walnut rustication, with the natural briar beneath peeping through for contrast, while an olive and burgundy mouthpiece adds a burst of bright color to the palette. The color palette furthers the design's organic, tree-like shaping, evoking the look of bark and foliage.