Il Duca Barone DDD Sandblasted Squat Tomato Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

Il Duca pipes are made by Italian artisan Massimiliano (Max) Rimensi. Having amassed plenty of experience with woodworking as a young man assisting in his uncle’s carpentry workshop, Rimensi borrowed this workshop to experiment in creating tobacco pipes. After spending time traveling learning from other Italian masters in their workshops, Rimensi created Il Duca, as an homage to the noblemen of his home city of Ferrara.

I have read that Il Duca’s Max Rimensi credits Tom Eltang and Baldo Baldi as significant influences on his style. In terms of shaping, this particular Il Duca does seem to lean more towards the Danes than the Italians. It is, after all, one of the squattest squat tomatoes I’ve ever seen, which evokes Eltang’s particularly horizontal designs, such as the Eskimo. But the pipe is also very much its own, with a distinct color composition and exotic wood stem insert. The pipe belongs to Rimensi’s “Barone” series, comprised solely of sandblasted Il Duca pipes, and has furthermore achieved the rank of three (out of a possible three) “D” grades.

The condition is excellent. I was quite puzzled with this one, as I couldn’t decide if it had been smoked or not. The rim looked to show signs of use, but the airway is unblemished by signs of smoke. I will list the pipe as “used,” just to be safe.

 

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.77 / 19.55mm

Bowl Depth: 0.96″ / 24.38mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 42g