Claudio Cavicchi: Smooth Stack (CCCCC) Tobacco Pipe

The Chimney/Stack shape is one that's very seldom crafted by Claudio Cavicchi, in fact, we've only ever received three new examples from him since we began carrying his work. That being said, of course, his ability to render this shape is incredible, as he's taken to the bold proportions inherent within its form and made them all his own, crafting this piece with a strong sense of muscularity that's tempered by a sloping kind of sleekness throughout the aft side of the profile. Of course, the bowl maintains nearly all of the visual weight of this composition, as the Chimney shape is wont to do, rising to over two and a half inches tall and presenting a broad build that terminates in an appropriately expansive rim. This entire monolithic structure rests atop a heel that, while firm, is also very subtly lifted, enhancing the verticality of the bowl and adding an air of dynamism to the pipe as a whole. A wide transition offers plenty of room to drape a thumb and begins a consistent sloping taper which runs through the oval shank and saddle stem, starting a gradual build that then suddenly erupts with the growth of the bowl. A recipient of five out of five "C" stamps, this pipe from the Italian artisan appropriately displays some incredible grain, with flame and straight grain running through the flanks of the shank and wrapping around the circumference of the bowl, twisting as if alive as it nears the rim and all the while striated by quavering waves of visible growth rings, all revealed beneath Claudio's signature honey-blonde stain.