Il Duca: Partially Sandblasted Acorn (B) Tobacco Pipe

Il Duca pipes are handmade in Italy by Max Rimensi, the name "Il Duca" honoring the historic rulers of his hometown Ferrara. His design style often favors slender shapes, exuding a high degree of refinement and elegance and spanning classic and more avant-garde shapes alike. This Acorn rendition beautifully showcases Rimensi's elegant and organic shaping style in a delightfully contrasting finish.

While this is a bolder piece from Il Duca proportionally, it still retains the Italian artisan's penchant for curving lines and refined shaping, its lines and gesture belying the bowl's substance for a comparatively sleek and fluid profile. Most Acorn renditions feature a flaring bowl and domed rim, but Rimensi has cut the rim to only imply this domed aspect in favor of a broad, smooth section rife with birdseye, providing vibrant contrast against the rest of the stummel's dark sandblast. A pointed heel spur follows the Acorn's characteristic design cues, and it initiates the shank's steep upward angle as it flares toward the stem, which reveals Rimensi's oft-seen mouthpiece style — a diminutive base to cap the shank and give the impression that the rest of the stem shoots directly from the end of the shank.