Il Duca: Sandblasted Volcano with Amboyna Burl (B) Tobacco Pipe

Il Duca's Max Rimensi became besotted with pipes and the making of them in the early 1990s and is now known for crafting some of the most desirable and imaginative pipes in the modern era. Moreover, he's one of the most versatile, easily transitioning between different schools of design with stunning results produced.

This organic Volcano from the Italian artisan displays the sleek line work and elegant contours that characterize pipes in his vast portfolio. The wrapping ridgeline demarcates the lifting, convex heel, with the plump sides gradually tapering to the rim. Not only does that base lift, it protrudes, giving the impression that this pipe is ready to zoom off for parts unknown. While Danish design cues are present here, there's also some Italian neoclassical shaping to be observed as well. The bulbous bowl dominates, with the more slender, flaring shank lending balance and revealing a smooth accent of amboyna burl, an exotic hardwood indigenous to southeastern Asia, and which shows off its own handsome grain patterns. This piece is wearing one of Max's signature contrast-stained sandblasts, the hues complemented by the aforementioned accent.