Ardor: Meteora Rhodesian Tobacco Pipe

Ardor has a long-standing history, their roots dating back to 1911. Wanting to continue in his father's footsteps after founding the Sociedade Rovera workshop in Varese, Italy, young Angelo Rovera knew he wanted to carry on the family's legacy within the pipe industry. With the help of his son, Dorelio, Angelo established Ardor in 1974, and worked to maintain the high level of craftsmanship and quality products he'd been brought up with. After Angelo's passing in 1999, his grandsons, Damiano and Dimitri, took over the business and still run it today. Together, they stoke the flames and keep the family legacy burning bright.

This offering from Ardor is a fascinating take on the Rhodesian shape. With its squat stature, ridged waistline, and the carved details of the marque's Meteora finish, the bowl evokes the look of a flying saucer. Joining the bowl is a short, muscular shank, which is in turn met by a distinctive acrylic stem. The stummel wears Ardor's Meteora finish, named after a rock formation in Greece upon which one of the largest complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries is built. Owing to its namesake, this finish boasts a wealth of textural variety as it dresses the surface with a rugged rustication set beneath a latticed arrangement of smooth, carved channels, granting an architectural quality.

— Jenna Wasserman