Claudio Cavicchi: Brown Smooth Bent Dublin Tobacco Pipe

Italian artisan Claudio Cavicchi boasts nearly five decades of experience in carving pipes, his start in the world of pipe making spurred on by impatience and a determination to do better than those brands he could buy in tobacco shops. His style is characterized by its neoclassical proportions and impeccable grain, and that's something which is demonstrated well by this bent Dublin. The shank is straight, taking on a slight taper out of its wide transition and meeting a demurely curved saddle stem that lends this piece a charming bit of elegance through the aft side. Up front the bowl stands proud on its rounded heel and flares out to an appreciable breadth that's actually greater than its height, a domed rim curving out of a firm ridge that marks the flare's apex. Dressed in one of Cavicchi's signature brown stains, this piece showcases fine striations of flame grain through the flanks and around the bowl, while the top and underside, though especially the rim, are covered by dense clusters of birdseye.