Mastro de Paja 3C Smooth Brandy w/ Brass 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.

The aesthetic of the “Pesaro school” of Italian pipe design—of which Mastro de Paja was a founding figure—in many ways mirrors that of the Danish schools that emerged after the Second World War. Both began not with bombast, but with designs rooted in the classics of Anglo-French pipe making, which were elevated to new heights thanks to advances in handicraft. And while both featured offshoot makes and movements that became more experimental and ostentatious, a strong connection to more traditional forms nonetheless persisted, even amongst their most groundbreaking contributors. This Mastro de Paja would be an example of that kind of persistence of a founding idea, being at its core an elegant brandy rendition not too far removed from Anglo-French conventions, but with a fullness and a quality of grain patterns better afforded by more modern, artisan labor. Unsurprisingly, this pipe also belongs to Mastro de Paja’s higher grades, being a 3C, one distinguished by its superior graining and light, natural finish.

The condition is good. Some inner rim darkening and a couple of slight scratches on the bowl.

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.81 / 20.57mm

Bowl Depth: 1.57″ / 39.87mm

Weight: 1.9oz / 56g