Bidspirit auction | French Carved Briar Elephant Head

French Carved Briar Elephant Head Pipe - A French hand-carved smoking pipe featuring a figural bowl in the likeness of an elephant's head. The bowl is constructed from carved wood, likely briar, with a dark brown finish. The carving depicts an elephant with stylized large ears, recessed eye sockets, and tusks that extend downwards, with the trunk curling beneath the bowl to form the base. The wooden shank is fitted with a curved black stem, likely vulcanite or ebonite. An impressed mark is located on the underside of the shank consisting of two lines of text; the bottom line reads FRANCE in block capital letters, while the line of text above it is worn and not legible.