Il Duca: Sandblasted Rhodesian (B) Tobacco Pipe

Max Rimensi, the skilled carver behind Il Duca pipes, enjoys a reputation for being able to easily shift between the various schools of design, imbuing classic shapes with a re-imagined, more contemporaneous aesthetic, be it through stem material, design, or accent. Additionally, the Italian artisan prides himself in producing precisely engineered, highly functional smoking instruments built for durability and enjoyment, such as this Rhodesian: pipes that defy convention with their flowing lines and organic inclination.

The stem is gingerly bent, a wide and easy taper of black vulcanite that meets a thick ovoid shank, informing the bowl's squatness. This vertical compression urges me to think of the Horn shape, as, if the bowl didn't feature its ridgeline, it would look very much like the aforementioned profile given the entire shape's gradual expansion from the button to the rim. Said ridgeline gives the transition a slight degree of sharpness, working in concert with the ridge itself to imbue the pipe with a more architectural look near the fore. In its entirety, however, this shape is quite fluid, gently ebbing to its zenith along a supple curvature. There's a touch of lift given to the heel, as if the briar were being held aloft by a breath of wind, and this pushes the bowl into a slightly more prominent position, allowing for you to easily focus your attention on its width and expert shaping. Rimensi has finished this pipe with a contrast-stained sandblast, coloring the base of the briar a deep, rusty orange, while the streaks of flame grain that enwrap the lower bowl and the pinpricks of birdseye on the rim are treated with black, causing them to pop. A truly striking piece, this silhouette has become a signature of Massimiliano's, and it's not hard to see why: This fusion of classic and contemporary shaping and styling results in a profile sure to stay relevant generations from now.