Armellini Botero Rusticated Freehand w/ Bocote Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Armellini is something of a hidden gem in the world of Italian pipe making, which might surprise given the singular contributions of its namesake, Mauro Armellini, to Italian pipe history. Mauro himself began his pipe-making career at the Rossi factory in the 1960s, before it was acquired by Savinelli. Later, Mauro worked for Savinelli, where he played an instrumental role in developing many of its iconic rustication styles, such as the coveted Corallo finish. After leaving Savinelli, Mauro created his own make, Mauro Armellini. In his workshop in Barasso, in northern Italy, he crafted these pipes alongside his four daughters. After Mauro passed in 2004, his daughter Wilma took the reins of the Armellini workshop, which continues to produce hand made pipes in both traditional and modern freehand styles.

Armellini’s Botero is one of the more playful series crafted in the make’s Barasso workshop. Combining exaggerated forms, exotic accents, and colorful stems, no two Botero pipes are exactly alike. This one is a large, freehand Dublin shape—in fact, much larger than most Botero pipes, which tend to be stubbier designs—rusticated Armellini’s rendition of the black pebble-dash finish that holds a firm place within the Italian pipe making tradition. This darker finish then sharply contrasts with a swirling Lucite stem reminiscent of antique Bakelite, along with a ferrule cut from Bocote wood.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, having come to us as part of a large new old stock lot from a shop closure in Europe.

 

Details:

Length: 6.0″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.86 / 21.84mm

Bowl Depth: 1.65″ / 41.91mm

Weight: 3.9oz / 112g