Atherton Bagpipes

2102 Atherton MacDougall reproduction in pink ivory. This instrument features hallmarked sterling silver ferrules, ring caps, tuning slides, mouth tube, and chanter sole. All silver is precision threaded and fitted. 1903 custom hand engraving. Artificial ivory under bushes and projecting mounts, pink ivory hemp stops. This is the first of four sets of a kind.

Each instrument will be personally customized and will be a gift to each of the daughters of the buyers.

I've had the pink ivory wood in my possession since 2007. It has been monitored very closely for seasoning and dimensional stability, slowly dried down to 6% moisture content over the course of five years. 90-95% of the pink ivory that is harvested is unsuitable for instrument grade. The wood used on this set had been selected very carefully from several dealer's stock with a greater than 60% rejection rate. Of the stock I received, I rejected another 60% or greater. Pink ivory is a highly flawed wood presenting small knots and other defects in pieces that would otherwise be considered perfect. Wood was chosen based on my usual criteria and standards of density, figure, grain, and color. Tenor sections were made from the same billets, meaning that both tenor tops, bottoms, and stocks came from the same respective billet.

Pink ivory is one of the most expensive woods in the world at a cost of two or three times that of African blackwood depending on the grade and quality. Part of the expense is due to a higher rejection rate as this species has a more inconsistent density and color.