Il Duca: Sandblasted Bent Billiard with Boxwood Tobacco Pipe

Massimiliano Rimensi of Ferrara, Italy, creates pipes under the name Il Duca in honor of the historical rulers of his native city. He draws inspiration from Danish, Italian, and Anglo-French pipe-making and channels those disparate design styles through his personal creative prism, producing work that's singularly his own. Such is the case with this bent Billiard, a striking design with a tall, full-bodied bowl and a vertically inclined shank-and-stem arrangement.

Up front, the bowl rises from a solid heel, its trim walls tapering subtly to a tight, defined rim. Despite its compact silhouette, the bowl offers a generously sized chamber, providing ample room for extended smokes — a thoughtful balance of form and function. This efficient shaping is made possible by the close-knit transition between the bowl and shank, keeping the overall profile tight and cohesive. The stummel is dressed in a deep, smoldering sandblast that reveals striking grain patterns, while a smooth boxwood accent at the shank's end adds a bright, visual contrast to the comparatively dark finish.