Ardor: Urano Bucaneve Bent Brandy with Silver Tobacco Pipe

This chubby and hearty bent Brandy from Ardor is a member of the Italian workshop's Bucaneve line, meaning snowdrop in English, which refers to a flower of the same name which possesses distinctive petals, the shape of which Ardor has emulated in the stems of these pipes, creating an utterly unique aerial profile. The shaping displayed here is excellent, with a soft taper to the rim from the waistline of the bowl elegantly accomplishing the profile's iconic shape, balanced on the end of a trim, muscular shank, topped with a silver dome at the end. The rustication pattern on display here is nothing short of captivating, rivaling ring grain I have seen on sandblasted pipes, in its depth, orientation, evenness, and tightness, the bands climbing up the bowl from the heel without interruption, undulating under the warm hues of the stain.