Claudio Cavicchi: Smooth Elephant's Foot with Spalted Beechwood (CCCC) Tobacco Pipe

While known primarily for his Italian neoclassical stylings, Claudio Cavicchi's portfolio also features a variety of pipes with Scandinavian design cues, including renditions of the Elephant's Foot. A signature shape of Swedish carver Bo Nordh, the Elephant's Foot is similar to the Blowfish, in that its form is rooted in individualism, with its grain-oriented approach leading to many distinctive designs. Eager to fill the hand, the bowl bulges forward upfront, its figure formed by muscular, insulating walls flaring high from the heel toward the plateau-capped rim. At the aft, a crisp ridgeline wraps from under the heel toward the rim, framing a sturdy panel where the thumb can rest comfortably. Adorned with a plump accent of spalted beechwood, the shank lifts out of the transition and joins to a gently downturned tapered stem. Graded four C's out of five, the bowl of this piece features plenty of room to display lovely flame grain around the fore, all of which is dressed in a warm, honey-blonde stain.