Italian Estates: Ardor Partially Rusticated Bent Panel (Angelo) Tobacco Pipe

The Ardor marque was established in 1974, its name being a portmanteau of its founders, Angelo Rovera and his son Dorelio Rovera. The family's tradition of pipe making extends further, to 1911, when Angelo's father Francesco founded the Sociedade Rovera pipe company alongside his brothers. A bold, expressive design, this bent Panel from Ardor takes the cutting profile of the Skater and gives it a less pronounced, more softened heel, drawing its figure more closely to the Dublin shape. A tall, hearty bowl stands upfront, its thick, flaring walls framed by three facets, with the two flanking facets joining together to form a crisp ridgeline at the fore that reaches from heel to rim. Out back is a sharply upturned shank joined to a smartly bent tapered stem, the pair well-suited for comfortable jaw-hanging. The stummel wears a striking dual finish, with the rim and fore of the bowl dressed in a smooth auburn stain and the rest of the briar enveloped in a rugged, jet-black rustication.