Il Ceppo (4) Smooth Rhodesian w/ Silver Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates, 9mm

Description

Founded by the architect Giorgio Imperatori in Pesaro, Italy, Il Ceppo is a workshop that produces high-end, handmade pipes, and a central figure in what has been called the “Pesaro school” of pipe design. This “school” was inaugurated in the 1970s with the emergence of workshops such as Imperatori’s Il Ceppo and Giacarlo Guidi’s Mastro de Paja, with each of its “members” being based in, or having some connection to, the town of Pesaro on Italy’s Adriatic coast. The Pesaro school is not simply a matter of shared location, however; there are common stylistic threads between member workshops and, quite often, individuals who have been part of more than one such workshop at different points in time.

Much like another Il Ceppo listed recently, this one is very much in the spirit of the early “Pesaro” tradition—i.e., handcrafted renditions of the classic shapes of 20th century pipe making. In fact, this slightly squat Rhodesian could almost pass for something out of Saint Claude in the early 1900s. I say “almost” because, of course, those formative French briars rarely exhibited the quality and consistency of grain patterns that Il Ceppo pipes do, as this Rhodesian shows quite well. One might say it doesn’t need the sterling silver collar with a bowl like that. I suppose it is simply the pipe’s “cherry on top.”

The condition is very good. Minor inner rim darkening and slight finish fading. This pipe is chambered to allow for the use of 9mm filters if desired.

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.79 / 20.06mm

Bowl Depth: 1.26″ / 32.00mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 46g