Il Duca: Partially Sandblasted Volcano with Silver (B) Tobacco Pipe

Whether fashioning plump, muscular designs or sleek, pencil-shanked forms, Max Rimensi of Il Duca often crafts pipes with a definitive sense of fluidity and curvature. The Italian artisan, based in Occhiobello, is well regarded for his signature Rhodesian renditions and use of morta as a pipe-making material, and this Volcano exhibits the sinuous line work and elegant, svelte nature seen across pipes in his portfolio. Sometimes the Volcano reveals a crisp, almost architectural disposition, with a crisp, upward taper and firmly defined heel, but this Il Duca version takes a decidedly more organic and supple approach. The bowl does taper toward the rim but with the foremost line concave to promote a protruding lip at the base, and the heel — though still demarcated by the shape's defining, lower ridgeline — is softly rounded to match the rest of the piece's genteel curves. The dramatically upturned shank gives way to a bent stem for a deeply bent profile and gestural S-curve, promoting a comfortable clenching posture, and the stummel is dressed in a striking, dual finish: The heel is smooth and walnut-stained to highlight whorls of birdseye, while the rest of stummel wears a dark-stained sandblast, drawing attention to the elegant silver accent on the shank face.