Ser Jacopo Maxima L1 Smooth Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

Ser Jacopo is likely the most famous contemporary example of high-grade, workshop-made Italian pipes. It also belongs to a very special tradition in Italian pipe-making, having been established by Giancarlo Guidi and Bruno Sordini after the two had left another great Italian workshop, Mastro de Paja. Together, Guidi and Sordini created a brand of pipes that reflected their Renaissance sensibilities – even the figurehead of Ser Jacopo happens to be taken from a painting of a nobleman from centuries past – one that would soon become esteemed for creating unique and beautiful tobacco pipes that smoked just as well as they looked.

Taken from the Latin for “greatest,” Ser Jacopo’s Maxima grade pipes are the largest pipes offered from the Italian workshop. In recent years, Ser Jacopo has offered larger and larger pipes, with the size group being designated by the number of “Maxima”s stamped on the shank. This particular Ser Jacopo is a one “Maxima,” making it more comparable to Dunhill’s “semi-giant” post-war OD shapes than some of the magnums seen today. With that said, it’s still a hefty chunk of briar, making the consistency of the straight grain found around its bowl even more impressive. Add that to the ring of pure bird’s-eye on the pipe’s rim, its auburn Liscia 1 (L1) stain, and its tasteful sterling silver collar, and you’ve got one big, beautiful Ser Jacopo.

-J.M.

The condition is great. Some minor finish fading on the rim and a small spot of char at the fore of the inner lip of the chamber, but nothing major.

 

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.80 / 20.32mm

Bowl Depth: 1.84″ / 46.73mm

Weight: 2.2oz / 64g