Smooth Billiard with Silver (Floodlight) Tobacco Pipe

Paolo Becker and Massimo Musico crafted Becker & Musico pipes together, with Paolo on the lathe and Massimo focusing on mouthpieces and bands, until 2002 when Paolo turned to crafting pipes under his own name. Today, Massimo continues to make pipes under the Foundation brand, with a particular focus on slight deviations from typical Anglo-French shapes.

Though a relatively straightforward rendition of the Billiard in its design and execution, this piece is an undeniably handsome work from Musico. The walls of the bowl are almost unnoticeably tapered near the rim, while the shank-and-stem arrangement out back is arrow-straight. Tight flame grain finished smoothly and stained a deep-red mahogany gives the right flank a particularly handsome profile, while an accent ring bridging the end of the round, muscular shank and face of the tapered vulcanite stem gives this piece an easy dash of elegance. At just under six inches and a little over one-eighth of a pound, it's also a piece that will feel substantial in the hand with every smoke.