Like most sensible carvers, Hiroyuki Tokutomi didn't start his pipe carving career with sitter cavaliers, but when he felt the time was right to make that move, he wound up setting new standards for the form. This 2007 masterpiece is graded as a 'Hiro', a marque, if I recall correctly, that was the legend's highest grade at that time. As demand for his work continued to climb within the ranks of first water collectors, the double-Hiro stamp was created, but I can't recall a 'Hiro-Hiro' that was a clear cut above the work that is now in front of you.

While mastodon ivory is hardly unknown in the world of high grades, this Hiro Grade utilizes a staggeringly large amount for the base, and the adroit fluting of the same, created to lend continuity to the bevels of the body, is something most pipe makers wouldn't even attempt, much less succeed at this level of perfection. Sitting on your desk, this jewel will display one of the finest, most intuitive fusions of the architectural and the natural that you are likely to encounter. Soft does not counter hard, nor does the edge oppose the plane; these seemingly opposing aspects live in such harmony that attempting to cram these artificial concepts into a hole begins to border on the absurd. Note the perfect flow of the grain throughout and the poignant placement of the plateau. Then let your softened gaze simply take in the amazing totality. Yeah, I am right there with you.

Bear Graves