Lithos Bent Dublin (YY) Tobacco Pipe

Sicilian brothers Elio and Guido Rinaldo moved to Pesaro and started working with Mastro de Paja in the mid-1970s, founding their own titular brand in 1987. They produce about 1,500 pipes a year using briar from Liguria in northwestern Italy, and grade them from one to four Y's, or the highest grade, Fiamatta, denoting excellent flame grain.

This colorful bent Dublin from Rinaldo is shaped nearly like a checkmark, fronted as it is by a straight-walled, canted bowl and backed by a dramatically upturned shank to make the heel wide and round. With the exception of a slender ring near the junction and the rim of the bowl, the stummel is rusticated for a lightly craggy touch and a dark appearance with flecks of ruby-colored briar peeking out in between. The stem is intricately crafted from translucent, amber-colored acrylic, with square shoulders and a pair of expansion rings before it ultimately tapers and bends back to the bit.