Don Carlos 1 Note Large Rusticated Tomato Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

Don Carlos belongs to a historic lineage within Italian pipe making. The workshop was founded by Bruto Sordini (along with his wife Rosaria), who had previously made pipes for Mastro de Paja, where he also met Giancarlo Guidi. In 1981, Sordini and Guidi left Mastro de Paja to found their own workshop, Ser Jacopo. After years of making pipes at Ser Jacopo, Sordini once again departed to found a new venture, as he had ideas for shapes and styles that were quite different to Ser Jacopo’s established design philosophy. Sordini therefore created Don Carlos as a means of expressing this vision, resulting in pipes that are both quintessentially Italian, and bearing aesthetic that is wholly their own.

Squat shapes, like the tomato, are fascinating, as every pipe maker appears to approach them a little differently. The early French tomatoes are nothing like the modern American ones, and the Italian ones are in a league of their own as far as diversity and quality go (then again, the Italians do know a thing or two about tomatoes). This one, from Bruto and Rosaria Sordini, leans almost in the direction of an old, classical diplomat, though it’s simply too plump and wide to fit that mold. All the better for it, mind, especially when dressed in the Sordinis’ own take on high-grade Italian rustication.

The condition is great. Minor wear to the rim. The pipe comes with its original box.

 

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.92 / 23.36mm

Bowl Depth: 1.40″ / 35.56mm

Weight: 2.3oz / 66g