Il Duca: Sandblasted Morta Bent Apple with Bamboo (B) Tobacco Pipe

Max Rimensi of Il Duca pipes possesses an enchanting and unique shaping style, with a clear appreciation for organic, asymmetrical design cues. Such an aesthetic is evident in this bent Apple, as we see the merging of morta, bamboo, and vulcanite into a cohesive whole, with each element emphasizing the other and complementing the entirety of its form.

The stem is the vulcanite in this equation, comprising a trim black taper that flows out of a length of three knuckles of bamboo, with a divot in the grass continued on the left flank of the stem near the underside. The taper that this stem presents is a continuation and diminution of the growth of this bamboo, with Rimensi's skilled hands merging the two nearly seamlessly, even mirroring the bamboo's gentle upward arc with the stem's gentle downturn. What meets this extension is a trim shank that flares into the transition, mimicking the expansion of the grass at the point of the knuckles, and growing into a sizeable bowl.

As the bowl inflates upward, we also see it reach outward, coming to a single, firm ridgeline at a high-set waist that then tapers eagerly to a broad rim. Underneath this, there is even more structure, as the line beneath the transition leads the eye to a rather sharp heel, almost a spur, reminding me of an Acorn and evoking the feeling of an apple hanging from a branch, though inverted. The inky surface of the morta stummel is treated with a gentle sandblast that reveals some lovely grain, and the bamboo, rather than standing out in pale contrast, is much darker than usual, with just the knuckles retaining this pallor, making for a look that is unmissable and infinitely entrancing.