Il Ceppo Imperatori Era Rusticated Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

Il Ceppo is an Italian brand that has been producing high-grade pipes since the 1970s. Founded by the architect Giorgio Imperatori in Pesaro, Italy, Il Ceppo is a central figure in what has been called the Pesaro School of pipe design, along with other companies such as Ser Jacopo and Mastro de Paja.

This particular Il Ceppo should be of particular interest to collectors of Italian pipes, as it is an older pipe from the esteemed Pesaro make. From the nomenclature and other stamps, this pipe looks to have been made during what is known as the “Imperatori era,” which was the period from 1977 to 1996 when Georgio Imperatori himself ran the Il Ceppo workshop, prior to his retirement. The design is classic Il Ceppo, with a rustication approach that is somewhere between the rough and rocky finishes of Castello and Caminetto, and the softer style used by Radice. The shape is also very much in line with earlier Il Ceppo pipes, being a canted pot/billiard hybrid with an extra dose of heft to it.

The condition is excellent. There’s a small spot of darkening toward the front of the rim at its inner lip, but the pipe has nevertheless been extremely well preserved.

 

Details:

Length: 5.7″ / 144.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.87 / 22.09mm

Bowl Depth: 1.7″ / 43.18mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 48g