Savinelli: Fuoco Smooth Dark Brown (602) (6mm) Tobacco Pipe

Trimmer and more lithe than is usual in typically robust Italian pipe design, Savinelli's "602" is a bent Billiard with more of a Danish flair, especially noticeable in the sweeping curves of the silhouette and slight taper of the bowl toward the rim. The proportions between bowl and shank, though, return us to bowl-centric Italian territory, contributing to a bold, sporty, and active character, as appropriate in a sports car as in an armchair.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo was an Italian artisan who might be best comparable to Hieronymus Bosch, if he can be compared to anyone at all; that is to say, though their subjects were quite different (Giuseppe specialized in portraiture), Arcimboldo also created works including parts complex, bizarre, and beautifully rendered, in a style so surreal one would hardly expect it from an artisan who lived so many centuries ago. Indeed, even though he's considered a Mannerist thematically, the stylization of his works stands out as completely unique among other contemporary artists even of the very same design school. It is in his honor that Savinelli fashions the Fuoco series, this pipe presented in a box bearing Arcimboldo's famous Fuoco, or Fire, which was created for the Hapsburgs as part of his famous four-portrait Four Elements series. Fitting to Giuseppe Arcimboldo's style of frequently setting his subjects against dark, shadowed backgrounds, Savinelli's Fuoco line is offered in three dark palettes: a deep, rich, auburn-tinged, almost smoldering, smooth walnut stain; an extremely dark and smoky, black-over-tan smooth stain; and a charming black-and-walnut rustication — all three styles adorned with bright metal accents.