Don Carlos Two Note Melos XL Rusticated Dublin w/ Silver & Gold 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.

While Bruto and Rosaria Sordini’s Don Carlos pipes are, for the most part, unique in shape and style, there is a class of pipes that adhere to the same shape. Along with the Ars et Labor line, these pipes, such as the Bolero, the Kronos series, and the Melos series, are something like the jewels in the crown of Don Carlos, recurring every now and then due to the deep fondness the Sordinis have for them. Their Melos pipes are particularly special, each featuring both engraved silver and ornate gold mountings.

But this Melos is a little different to the rendition currently (still very occasionally) produced by the Sordinis. While it still bears the silver and gold mount seen on the contemporary Melos, the latter is typically a pot shape, with this one instead being a tremendously tall, saxophone-like bent Dublin. Having researched the matter further, it appears that the Melos originally designated the type of mount used (not unlike at Ser Jacopo, where Bruno Sordini once worked), with various shapes utilizing that same mount. Today, the Melos refers to the silver and gold-mounted pot design in its entirety, making this Dublin variation a rather uncommon find.

The condition is great. Some general wear to the rim.

Details:

Length: 6.4″ / 162.5mm

Bowl Width: 1.03 / 26.16mm

Bowl Depth: 2.33″ / 59.18mm

Weight: 2.4oz / 70g