Italian Estates: Ardor Tabacco Fantasy Freehand (DR) (2020) Tobacco Pipe

Though the Ardor pipes workshop was founded in 1974 by father-son team Angelo and Dorelio Rovera, the pipe-making history of the family stretches back to 1911, with the founding of Sociedade Rovera in Varese, Italy. It was here that Angelo began to carve pipes alongside his father and uncles, starting at the age of 13 in 1958, Ardor's debut into the pipe world marked by a high standard of craftsmanship that's remained consistent for nearly five decades. Though Angelo passed away in 1999, Ardor is now run by Dorelio, alongside both Damiano and Dimitri, the next generation of Roveras. Ardor's pipes are often typified by their strikingly neoclassical proportions, with each piece offering greatly enhanced substance about the bowl and a reassuring presence in hand. Part of Ardor's Fantasy line, the junction of this Freehand is emblematic of the series' unique character, with the shank flaring gently to meet a band of vibrantly multicolored acrylic paired to a matching stem with a silver-wrapped base. The transition is wide, and it gives way to a subtly lifting shank that tapers subtly before flaring out to the junction, where the accent matches the swirling black and yellow acrylic of the offset saddle stem. Up front, the bowl stands on a sweeping heel and grows Egg-like walls with plenty of curvature to them, walls that taper subtly to the rim before flaring out gently in Hourglass-like fashion. As part of the Italian workshop's Tobacco series, a trio of tobacco leaves have been carved into the bowl's lower flanks, their smooth surfaces and the smooth rim contrasting the rest of the stummel and its craggy rustication: all presented in a light stain.