PAUL DREXLER
NATIVE AMERICAN EBONY CUE
WITH SILVER, IVORY, TURQUOISE AND CORAL
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Here is another beautiful Pfd Studio creation from the hands of Paul Drexler. When it comes to completely novel and artistic cue designs, he is among only two or three who can do it right. This cue shows exactly why.
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This cue - originally named by Paul as the "Southwestern Mosaic" - has been referred to as the "Kokopelli Cue" by the few who have seen it. It was built for the Native American Special Collection at the 2009 International Cue Collector Show in Santa Fe, and few people who saw it forgot it. Until now, this cue was locked away in a special collection and we were fortunate to have recently acquired it.
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There's a lot to say about this cue, but let me start with the materials themselves. It is a solid ebony cue with a spectacular design built from Blood Coral, Kingman Turquoise, fine silver (.999 pure), white gold and creamy, solid ivory.
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The forearm of this cue has four floating points built from the coral, turquoise, pure silver and ivory. As beautiful as they are, they are not simply built for decoration. They are made up of a number of intricate Native American designs sacred to several of the native-American peoples.
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In the middle of the grip portion of the cue are four double-ended lance points done ind pure silver. It is simple, but very, very elegant, and the silver stands out from the dark Gabon ebony background beautifully.
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The butt sleeve, like the nose of the cue, is beautifully designed, but again is more. It contains not only the important image of Kokopelli, but a number of other very important Native American symbols.
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The front of this cue begins with an ivory joint with a black G-10 radial pin followed by ringwork comprised of four Zuni Sunface inlays and four pure silver circles. The ringwork is repeated on the decorative ringgs on the two shafts and on the set of three joint protectors.
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A lot of cues that have so much design work in them don't fully come together when it's all finished. Not this one. This stick, taken as a whole, is a masterful design and one that, viewed at arm's length, is a masterpiece.
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Paul did an unbelievable job of taking the various NA symbols he thought were important to this cue and blending them into the points in the nose.
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| The symbols are all artfully designed so as to form the points, and the color combinations of the natural materials form a striking image. The blood coral is a precious coral that is smooth and without indentations, and its color adds greatly to this stick.
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Kingman turquoise is mined at the last remaining turquoise mine in the U.S. near Kingman, Arizona. It is some of the finest on earth, and is known for its beautiful blue color with spider web patterns.
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The use of the fine silver throughout this stick adds greatly to its dynamic appearance and also to its value.
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The ivory window frame points that surround the Kingman turquoise are paired to resemble traditional Indian teepees. A silver lance point inlay separates each teepee point near the top. The bottom of the teepees merge into an adaptation of a classic style Indian pottery design - all executed in silver, ivory, blood coral and white gold.
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Ivory and blood coral ringwork at the base of the points accent the forend design.
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The Gabon ebony butt sleeve features the traditional southwestern Zuni Sunface done in silver, turquoise and coral looking down on a classical Kokopelli image inlayed using pure silver and white gold. This is flanked top and bottom by ivory and blood coral inlayed ringwork. The imagery of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains, blue river and parched deserts is captured in additional inlay work at the feet of "Kokopelli."
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As always with Paul's cues, the work is meticulously and flawlessly executed.
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Paul spared no expense in building this one. Lots of red coral (now rare), top-quality turquoise, silver, and white gold, and everything white is ivory.
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The solid ivory butt cap is engraved with the Pfd Studios logo.
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As mentioned earlier, it is built with a G-10 radial pin in a solid ivory joint, and it weighs 19.5 ounces. It come with two 13mm shafts with matching ringwork. It also comes with an elaborate set of joint protectors. I believe if you were to order this set of JPs separately, they would cost over $1000. It is accompanied by the original letter from Paul describing the cue.
This is a rare, "one of one" collectible cue that is made to be cherished, but is still very playable. I consider this a gallery level cue.
PRICE: $9500 PLUS SHIPPING
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