Claudio Cavicchi: Smooth Zulu (CCCC) Tobacco Pipe

Though Claudio Cavicchi has carved a number of Zulu designs, they differ in degree of cant, bowl width and bend; yet all display the form's inherent dynamism and fluid disposition. The forward-ebbing bowl here isn't quite as dramatic as some we've seen from the Italian pipe maker, while the elongated transition and sweeping undercurve contribute to the design's gestural shank and arcing stem in back. A handsome pipe, it boasts four "C" stamps, denoting superior quality of grain and shaping, with tight-knit arrays of straight grain rising toward the rim on all flanks for a truly stunning composition.