Smooth Bent Egg Tobacco Pipe

Imbued with implied forward motion, this bent Egg from Tom Eltang displays the slender and serpentine attitude of the form that Tom has often utilized, connecting a softly contoured bowl with a stretch of shank and stem that extends in a soft upward arc balanced by the gentle downturn of the mouthpiece. Those elements are in oval form, more wide and muscular when viewed from above than when examined in profile. The bowl maintains its shaping with a concise transition and slopes outward as it descends from the rim to the low waistline. The forward heel lifts the form further and contributes to an impression of forward acceleration, supported further by the cant of the bowl. Tom's contrast staining is well used here as it delineates the fine strands of vertical grain around the bowl as well as the birdseye of the upper and lower shank, and that's where we thank him for thinking to provide a wide shank, as the spectacle is impressive. A more well-balanced composition is hard to imagine, and those who appreciate the understated lines and curves of Tom Eltang's work are sure to be tempted.