Il Ceppo (Imperatori Era; c.1977-96) F0742 Extra Large Rusticated Stacked Canadian (Estate)

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.

There are two commonly recognized “eras” of Il Ceppo pipes: the “Imperatori era,” during which the workshop was helmed by Giorgio Imperatori himself, and the period after his retirement, after which the workshop was helmed by Franco and Nadia Rossi. Both periods have their merits, but there are a few stylistic differences between the two, and the “Imperatori era” has been of distinct interest for collectors, especially in Italy. The arched “Il Ceppo” nomenclature puts this particular pipe within the Imperatori years, between the late 1970s and mid-1990s. As Pesaro school pipes tend to do, it leans firmly on the aesthetics of traditional Anglo-French pipe making, while adding a few other modern elements, such as a very Italian, natural rusticated finish, an inordinate length, and a towering bowl.

The condition is very good. Some small scratches on the bowl and chamber slightly over-reamed.

Details:

Length: 6.8″ / 172.72mm

Bowl Width: 0.87 / 22.09mm

Bowl Depth: 2.18″ / 55.37mm

Weight: 1.9oz / 56g