Ser Jacopo R1 Rusticated Bent Dublin Estate Briar Pipe

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.

While this Ser Jacopo is from early on in the make’s history (1980s-1990s) and predates the use of the ‘Maxima’ stamp for larger pipes, this pipe would undoubtedly have qualified for such a designation had it been made today. At nearly 6 and a half inches in length and with a bowl width of 24mm, it is a muscular Dublin if I ever saw one, with a capacious chamber to boot. It is also proof that big can indeed be beautiful, with a quintessentially Italian pebble-dash rustication, a smooth blonde, bird’s-eye laden rim, and a briar insert in its lucite stem. I’m actually reminded quite strongly of Mike Butera’s work by this one – but then again, he was heavily inspired by the Italian greats.

The condition is excellent. There’s some minor darkening on the inner lip of the rim, but it’s superficial.

 

Details:

Length: 6.4″

Bowl Width: 24.1mm

Bowl Depth: 2.3″

Weight: 2.7oz / 78g