Ardor Urano Fantasy Oom Paul (DR) (2023) (Unsmoked) 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 at 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. Such shaping is readily apparent in this Oom Paul rendition, a part of the Fantasy line which boasts the form's iconic fully-curved silhouette, though with the aft portion of the pipe slenderized through a slight taper out of the transition to the shank end. The shank end itself is capped with a lavender-hued acrylic fitment which meets a stem crafted from the same material whose base is accented with silver. The full bend of this profile lends it well to jaw-hanging, and its tall, cylindrical bowl's capacious chamber ensures lengthy smoking sessions and provides plenty of room for the craggy rustication of the Urano series to offer its rugged texture.