Il Duca: Sandblasted Natural Bent Egg with Bamboo (B) Tobacco Pipe

Il Duca's Max Rimensi crafts some of the most creative, desirable pipes to be found, his stylistic range running the gamut from classic pipes to more organic forms, such as this highly naturalistic bent Egg. The bowl is tall and rather bulbous with a sloping rim, plump and gently bulging fore and aft and a vertical ridgeline that wraps around beneath the heel before heading up the other flank, terminating at the rim. In profile, the Egg appears to have a heel spur, a testament to Max's skillful shaping acumen. Out back, a pencil-thin, abbreviated shank is extended and integrated by three knuckles of dark bamboo, reinforcing the organic motif. It's topped by one of the Italian artisan's hand-cut, vulcanite stems, certain to provide an engaging smoking experience. This piece is unstained, a virgin piece of briar that's contrasted handsomely by the bamboo and mouthpiece.