Butz Choquin Chatelaine 1130 XL Rusticated Freehand Sitter Estate Briar Pipe, French Estates

With its origins in an 1858 collaboration between Jean-Baptiste Choquin and Gustave Butz, Butz-Choquin ultimately become one of the premier smoking pipe companies in 20th century France. The brand is known both for its stylish variations on traditional English-French shapes and for its exploration of atypical and elaborate finishes. The brand is also known for its collaborations with celebrated French pipe-makers, such as Paul Lanier and Alain Albuisson, who made some of Butz-Choquin’s highest-grade pipes for the company.  

This is an interesting looking Butz Choquin isn’t it? And the name, that’s interesting too, right? Let’s see if I can provide some information that will shed some light on this one. Chatelaine (or “Châtelaine“) is an old French word. Roughly speaking, “Châtelain” refers to a person who is in charge of a castle, and therefore to everyone living in the surrounding territory. “Châtelaine” is simply the feminine form of the word. So, there is a castle theme to this pipe. And that’s not difficult to see. It is a freehand, but one carved in a way that resembles a medieval European fortress more than anything else. This Châtelaine is also rusticated, and if you know anything about architecture, you’ll know that one of the historic reasons for rusticating a building is to make it look older. So, there is a distinct architectural theme to this pipe, both in shape and in finish. Clearly, a lot of thought went into it, which is unsurprising given that it was designed for Butz-Choquin by one of France’s preeminent master pipe makers: Alain Albuisson.

The condition is good. Some stem oxidation, but the pipe overall looks to have been lightly smoked. It also comes with its original box and sleeve. On a side note, this pipe also comes with a second, acrylic mouthpiece, which the previous owner had professionally made for all of his pipes. As such, the original, vulcanite mouthpiece has never been used.

Details:

Length: 7.5″ / 190.5mm

Bowl Width: 0.99 / 25.14mm

Bowl Depth: 2.14″ / 54.35mm

Weight: 2.8oz / 80g