Smooth Reverse Calabash Apple (C) Tobacco Pipe

At just over four inches in length, this pipe's character is of bigger proportions. Reverse Calabashes are fascinating structures, and even more so when creatively engineered in such a short piece with such plump aesthetics. Visually, it's almost all stummel, with the mouthpiece dramatically tapering in an interesting meld of saddle and taper. The result is that the mouthpiece all but disappears. The grain of the piece, as well, is accounted for in the design, with a windswept look lending some movement and linearity to the piece and moderating the stubbiness. It provides thick chamber walls and a singularity of elements for a theme of minimalism, ironic in such a bold piece. Max Rimensi of Il Duca has managed to deliver a piece here that, while almost self-contradictory, works remarkably as a unified whole.