Savinelli Autograph: Autograph Smooth Volcano (6) (6mm) Tobacco Pipe

This Volcano comes to us courtesy of Savinelli's esteemed Autograph line and was made entirely by a single one of the Italian marque's best artisans, the freedom from their shape chart affording them boundless creativity. Here we see an interesting alteration of form compared to those Volcanoes we usually see, with a slightly more compressed build, forward urge, and rather subdued styling. The stem here is a thick, short taper that's lightly downturned at the bit, diminishing swiftly to a push-style tenon that meets a softly domed shank face. Said face is rounded by a ridgeline which frames the raised top portion and gently ridged flanks, giving the face the outline of a reuleaux triangle. The flanks become firmer as they travel forward, creating the iconic base of the shape, while the top remains soft, sweeping upward into the bowl at the wide transition, leaving more than enough room to drape a thumb. The aft of the bowl is less steeply angled than the fore, though both contribute to a lively taper, and this gives the bowl a distinct forward urge, contributing to an overall sense of streamlined dynamism. Dressing this piece is a warm honey-mahogany stain which reveals windswept flame grain around the bowl and on the underside, radiating there from a basin of birdseye, with more of the pinpricks present on the slightly domed rim.