Novelli Sandblasted Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

Like many tobacconists, Rome-based Novelli has had house-brand pipes produced for the store by established pipe-makers in the area. I spoke to the current owner of Novelli, Marco, who said that this one was made by an artisan on the east coast of Italy. As this pipe was made around the 1990s, when Marco’s father ran the business, he did not recall who the artisan was, sadly. In any case, it’s a very nice, well made pipe, with a craggy, natural sandblast finish reminiscent of Dunhill’s mid-century Tanshell or Bill Taylor’s Ashton Old Church series. The sterling silver collar is a nice touch, too.

The condition is very good. There’s some rim darkening at the front, though this may well come off with more thorough scrubbing. I prefer to treat such finishes with a light touch and leave any further work to the buyer’s preference.

 

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.79″ / 20.06mm

Bowl Depth: 1.55″ / 39.37mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 46g