Post #580157 by TorchGuy on Sun, Mar 13, 2011 11:51 AM

Not certain on this forum's special rules, since the actual page seems to be broken.

Not my auction, but I found it today and I think it should be posted here. No idea whether any tikiphiles are bidding, but I hope whoever gets it loves both tiki and pipes. Can't be many like this around.

Little info for those who don't know. Meerschaum is hydrous magnesium silicate, mined out of the ground in Turkey. It is extremely lightweight and porous, and is one of the best materials for making pipe bowls. If smoked gently, it will draw oil from the tobacco to its surface, which forms a colored outer layer; it'll begin white, but will slowly change to shades of cream, pink or gold, amber, red and brown, darkening with time and use. CAO used to be in the meerschaum pipe business; they paid top dollar to get the top ten percent quality-wise of the meerschaum. Their carving was not always the greatest, and there are some downright ugly CAO pipes, but in the late 70s they acquired a carver named Ismet Belker, formerly employed for Golden Horn brand pipes. For many years, CAP gave Bekler the top ten percent of their meerschaum, meaning he got the best of the best, and he became one of the biggest names in meerschaum carving. Every year, CAP commissioned a series from him: they'd specify a theme and an edition number, and he would carve. One year, it was famous composers, another was boots and shoes, 1980 was dogs (I have one of these). Bekler is now retired, though a fair number of his pipes are still out there for sale; I know of two shops (one in WA, one in CA, let me know if you need to find these) which still have a few of his simpler non-limited pieces for sale. I'd estimate that the current price of this tiki pipe is below value by at least $80-150. At LEAST. See below.

Item no. is 180637685256 Pipe already has 8 bids, so if you're after this, pounce now!

I have seen unusual subjects on modern (post-1970) meerschaums ranging from film characters like Yoda and Darth Vader to animals in unusual situations and settings, Bekler's boots, and some well-and-truly bizarre attempts at erotic themes. But this is the first time I have ever seen, or even heard of, a tiki carving on a meerschaum, and it looks great, even if it is a rather common tiki (I'm not well-versed enough to ID it, sorry - many of you are amazing at doing that). Bekler's carvings didn't always look perfect, but this one is, in my opinion, exceptional. It will be feather-light and it will smoke and color like nothing else! This one has the CAO medallion on the stem (not all did), and says "i. Bekler" (pipes with his full first name were uncommon after about '81 or '82). The star above his signature looks like a common little 'decoration' carvers often added to cover a pit where a tiny bit of dirt was lodged; even the quality of stone Bekler got was prone to the occasional speck of rock or dirt. Also: All of his limited editions are dated AND numbered (i.e. on my dog, "Poodle - '80 - No. 25 of 100") and his non-limited pipes and run-of-the-mill models usually aren't; dates are also usually abbreviated. I thus believe this pipe to be a one-off. He did those, too, and they're uncommon relative to his other pieces. If it IS a one-off, you'll probably never see another, and I can't guess as to real value. Me - my pipe collection is temporarily closed after the acquisition of two very rare and unusual meerschaum pipes, one of them a bizarre Bekler - so I'll just add the photos to my image collection. If someone on TC gets this, let me know?