Michael Butera Vintage Classic Antique Bent Dublin (4) (00J) (90) Tobacco Pipe

Michael Butera has been crafting pipes since the '70s, and he has trained many of today's well-known American artisans, including Larry Roush, Steve Weiner, and Michael Frey. As he produces a limited number of pipes each year, estate offerings from Butera, like this Antique bent Dublin, are a rare treat for collectors.

This is a sizable and elegant take on the bent Dublin — deeply sinuous in profile and featuring a broad bowl with subtly flaring walls. The fore wall flares out ever so slightly more than the aft, lending the composition a touch of dynamism and elegant sense of movement. The upturned shank and deeply bent saddle stem aid in a comfortable smoking posture, and up front, the generous chamber boasts plenty of room for a favorite blend. Most of the stummel wears a high-relief sandblast that offers a wealth of tactile intrigue and reveals the briar's vertical and ring grain with aplomb. Only the rim of the bowl remains smooth, and it's stained with a warm finish that shows off incredibly tight clusters of birdseye. With its handsome grain and graceful, flowing silhouette, this is the perfect offering for the smoker seeking a refined piece rendered by a seasoned artisan.