Flávia Rodrigues: Smooth Billiard with Mammoth Tobacco Pipe

Ever since she began carving pipes, guided by the help of her partner Gustavo Cunha of Martelo pipes, Flávia Rodrigues has demonstrated an appreciation for classic shapes as well as showcasing the influence English and Danish pipe making has on her work. The Billiard is arguably the most classic of all pipe shapes, and Flávia's interpretations are thoroughly traditional and always impressive. We've seen the Brazilian carver's versions a few times previously, and she oftenprefers to render the timeless Billiard in trim proportions and increase its length.

This offering isn't as lengthy as the last aforementioned example, and it still displays a trim, slender disposition with the vulcanite mouthpiece making up the majority of the composition's length. The bowl is well-rounded, curvaceous, and around a Group 3 size, with moderate cheeking around the transition accentuating the bowl's plumpness. Said bowl features a hypnotic array of birdseye along the flanks, neatly separated by perfectly positioned lanes of cross grain fore and aft. Behind the bowl, the shank and stem consistently taper toward the lip button with a creamy band of mammoth in between to accent. Beautiful work from Flávia that should easily appeal to the classicist in anyone.