Don Carlos Rusticated Saxophone Dublin 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.

Given the central place of music for Bruno and Rosaria Sordini, and indeed for their Don Carlos make, it is not surprising that some of their pipes appear inspired by various instruments as far as design goes. This one, for instance, echoes the “saxophone” shapes pioneered by American pipe designer Ed Burak in its rollercoaster curvature and towering bowl. It also wears some of the most jagged rustication I’ve seen on an Italian pipe, to the point where it is reminiscent of the Dremel-based carvings of another American, Robert “Micoli” Burns, though which I imagine will have simply been carefully and thoroughly applied by the Sordinis’ hands. In any case, the finishing only makes it more assertive, lending this Don Carlos its full, baritone stature.

The condition is great. Very minor inner rim darkening.

 

Details:

Length: 5.4″ / 137.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.92 / 23.36mm

Bowl Depth: 2.18″ / 55.37mm

Weight: 1.8oz / 52g