Butz Choquin Maitre Pipier Spot Carved Egg Estate Briar Pipe, French Estates [SOLD]

Description

With its origins in an 1858 collaboration between Jean-Baptiste Choquin and Gustave Butz, Butz-Choquin ultimately become one of the premier smoking pipe companies in 20th century France. The brand is known both for its stylish variations on traditional English-French shapes and for its exploration of atypical and elaborate finishes. The brand is also known for its collaborations with celebrated French pipe-makers, such as Paul Lanier and Alain Albuisson, who made some of Butz-Choquin’s highest-grade pipes for the company.  

Here’s one of the lesser known facts about French pipe-making: Butz Choquin’s ‘Maître Pipier’ (English: ‘Master Pipe-Maker’ designation was not simply the make blowing smoke. These pipes really were crafted by masters, and were made using artisan means distinct from Butz Choquin’s factory-made pipes. The most famous of these artisans were Alain Albuisson and Paul Lanier. Both Albuisson and Lanier studied sculpture before pursuing pipe-making, with their pipes often maintaining close ties with other artistic fields. This egg looks closer to Albuisson’s style than Lanier’s though I can’t be sure. Its shaping flows organically, with an ever so-slightly under-slung shank. A spot-carved panel on its left side and a band of an amberoid material of some kind add a little extra flair to the overall design.

The condition is great. There’s a very small amount of inner rim darkening, but nothing I’d call significant.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.82 / 20.82mm

Bowl Depth: 2.25″ / 57.15mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 60g