Ser Jacopo R2 Rusticated Bulldog 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.

While Ser Jacopo today is known for its rather grandiose designs, the workshop’s humble beginnings as an offshoot from Mastro de Paja carried with it the latter’s emphasis on more modest creations. Mastro de Paja’s pipes were—and still are—high-grade, handmade works—but the pipes made there by Guidi, Sordini, et al., tended toward simpler shapes and finishes, crafted in a meticulous fashion as a means of competing with the emerging post-war artisan scene. As evinced by its coral dot stem inlay, this is one of Ser Jacopo’s earlier pieces (I’d estimate 1980s), taking the form of a stout English bulldog, with some of the cleanest, most consistent hand rustication I’ve seen in a good while. It’s no wonder the workshop decided to finish it with a light, golden tan stain, as this one certainly has nothing to hide.

The condition is great. Some inner rim darkening, but I don’t normally see older Ser Jacopos preserved quite like this one. Clearly it was owned by someone who appreciated the finer things in life for what they are.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.87 / 22.09mm

Bowl Depth: 2.08″ / 52.83mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 62g