J Mouton XL Sandblasted Pierced Calabash w/ Fossilized Walrus Ivory Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Description

Born and raised in the small town of Gueydan, Louisana, Jason Mouton’s rise in the ranks of American pipe makers has been nothing less than meteoric—and for good reason. Having crafted duck calls since he was a teenager, Mouton’s first forays into pipe making began with carving tampers. Mouton’s unexpected and substantial successes with these handmade tampers encouraged and allowed him to purchase the equipment needed to create pipes themselves. Studying the works of renowned American artisans such as J. Alan, Grant Batson, and Jared Coles, Mouton gradually developed his own pipe making craft, which was furthered by his exchanges with Greek artisan Chris Asteriou. Today, Mouton’s works are some of the most sought after on the artisan market, a demand which he has responded to—and not unlike his beginnings in carving tampers—by reinvesting his successes into an unwavering advancement of his skills and technique.

Ever since they were pioneered and popularized by legendary carvers such as Kei Gotoh and Todd Johnson, so-called “pierced” shapes (such as the “pierced fish) have taken on something of a dual role in the pipe world. On the one hand, they are spectacular, “functional works of art,” as the saying goes, well deserving of a place on the racks of die-hard collectors; on the other, they serve as a way to “test the mettle” of artisans, with those who can successfully pull off such a complex design proving themselves to be among the finest of their craft. They’re a little like the old Dunhill LC in that way—if you can make one and, more accurately, you can make one well, that’s a pretty good signal that you know what you’re doing. In the case of this one, Louisiana’s J. Mouton has not only demonstrated once more that he is one of the finest pipe makers working today, but also that he’s not content to merely ape the old masters. Taking the foundational “pierced” motif and hybridizing it with the traditional calabash, Mouton’s pipe is both impressive on a technical level and original on an aesthetic one. Further still, the pipe is a true calabash, with a hollowed [briar] chamber and removable bowl. In this instance, however, the “cap” of the bowl and the “piercing” shank extension have been carved from one of Mouton’s favorite materials—fossilized walrus bone.

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.78 / 19.81mm

Bowl Depth: 1.68″ / 42.67mm

Weight: 2.8oz / 80g