Mastro de Paja 1978 3B 1 Sun Smooth Pot Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

Like Castello, Mastro de Paja holds a special place in the world of Italian high-grade pipe workshops. Founded in 1972 by Giancarlo Guidi, the MdP team was soon joined by Giannino Spadoni and Bruto Sordini with the Guidi and Spadoni at the helm of the company until 1981. Guidi then left with Sordini to found Ser Jacopo, and Sordini would later leave Ser Jacopo to found Don Carlos. Spadoni, on the other hand, stayed at MdP until he also left, after which he founded Fiamma di Re. Today, Mastro de Paja is guided by Alberto Montini, with the workshop being known for both the manufacture of some of Italy’s most admired pipes, and for having launched the careers of some of its most respected artisans.

It is rare to see a Mastro de Paja like this one these days. The workshop has been around since the early 1970s but, like the old Ship of Theseus (and, indeed, like many a pipe company), it has changed hands and staff periodically over the last 50 years, becoming something that is both the same, but also quite different. These days, for example, Alberto Montini is at the helm of Mastro de Paja, and his designs tend to be quite ornate, with a liberal use of accents and such. Back when this one was made, on the other hand, Giancarlo Guidi was in charge, and it was under his tenure that Mastro de Paja pioneered the “Pesaro school” aesthetic—one of relatively simple, traditional briars, made to a standard that requires a far greater amount of handicraft than most factory makes. Guidi, as all fans of Italian pipes know, left Mastro de Paja around the beginning of the 1980s to found Ser Jacopo, but not without having made plenty of beautiful, classical pipes like pot seen here. Light in look and proportions, its bowl shows off a bounty of consistent flame grain, over which a relatively natural finish has been applied.

The condition is very good. Minor rim darkening and a slight spot of charring on the inner lip, though nothing major.

Details:

Length: 5.6″ / 142.2mm

Bowl Width: 0.87 / 22.09mm

Bowl Depth: 1.49″ / 37.84mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 42g