Il Duca: Smooth Acorn with Bamboo (D) Tobacco Pipe

Il Duca pipes are the brainchild of Max Rimensi, the Italian artisan having been an avid appreciator of pipes from an early age, making the process of pipe carving a natural fit given his experience working in his uncle's carpentry shop. Rimensi tirelessly studied the various minutia of the various schools of pipe making, examining every shape that he could get his hands on and visiting tobacco shops, pipe making workshops, and briar cutters, all before carving his first piece. The result of this tireless study is a shaping style that incorporates design elements from around the world, something reflected in this Acorn.

This piece is quite a bit different from Rimensi's other renditions of the shape, as it pairs his straight iteration of the profile with a bamboo shank extension that's rare on his bent versions of this shape, but has hitherto been unseen on one of his straight Acorns. The aft end of this pipe as a whole is quite striking, stretching the overall length of the composition to more than seven inches long and doing well to balance the full-bodied bowl present at the fore. The distinct, organic element with which the three knuckles of dark bamboo infuse this pipe is arresting to say the least, but it also lends further visual weight to the aft end, especially given Rimensi's consideration of its rhythm and natural divots. The rhythm is continued through the transition, with the shank tapering out to meet one of the middle sections of the dense grass, while the wider area of briar at the transition acts as a stylistic mirror to reflect one of the knuckles' flares. Rather than fitting this pipe with a saddle stem that further continues this rhythm, Rimensi has opted for a sleek taper of black vulcanite that further slenderizes the aft, a divot on top continued into the stem base by careful carving, matching one found atop the trim shank. Up front, the bowl stands tall and proud in a night monolithic display of neoclassical shaping, flaring dramatically out of a sweeping heel to meet an inflated rim at the high-set waistline. Offering ample curves and a deep chamber, the bowl here is an excellent canvas to display one of Rimensi's vibrant contrast stains, showcasing ample flame grain wrapping around the walls and birdseye throughout the rim.