Ser Jacopo (c.1994-97) Maxima R1 Partially Rusticated Dublin Estate Briar Pipe

Ser Jacopo is one of the most famous contemporary examples of high-grade, workshop-made Italian pipes. It also belongs to a very special tradition in Italian pipe making, having been established by Giancarlo Guidi and Bruno Sordini after the two had left another great Italian workshop, Mastro de Paja. Together, Guidi and Sordini created a brand of pipes that reflected their Renaissance sensibilities – even the figurehead of Ser Jacopo happens to be taken from a painting of a nobleman from centuries past—one that would soon become esteemed for creating unique and beautiful tobacco pipes that smoked just as perfectly as they looked.

Since the workshop’s early years, Ser Jacopo has used the “Maxima” designation for oversized pipes—i.e., pipes that are significantly larger than the average Ser Jacopo. While in more recent times, the use of the “Maxima” designation has been expanded, leading some, gargantuan Ser Jacopo pipes to be stamped with up to eight “Maxima”s respective to their size, even a single “Maxima” from the workshop is quite a big pipe.

This one takes the form of a seriously bold Dublin, with a chamber deep and thick-walled enough to handle just about anything thrown at it, and to do so for up to several hours at a time. The dress is a quintessentially Italian pebble dash, though in this instance the rim has been left polished smooth in a much lighter hue than the rest of the pipe, no doubt to show off the briar’s copious bird’s-eye patterns.

On a last, slightly interesting note, this Ser Jacopo looks to have been made around the mid-1990s, owing to its red plexiglass dot stem inlay. As I’ve mentioned before, Ser Jacopo pipes have gone through numerous different stem logos over the years, and an inlay of sea coral was used for much of the workshop’s early years. EU legislation protecting such corals came into effect in 1994, however, which put an end to that practice. However, for a few short years prior to the adoption of the modern silver “J” stem logo, the Ser Jacopo workshop used red plexiglass instead, aiming to emulate the hues of the sea coral that was no longer available. Today, the red plexiglass inlay is used for sub-brands, like the La Fuma and Modica, though back when this Dublin was made, it was used for main-brand Ser Jacopo pipes—this being one of them.

The condition is great. Some slight darkening and minor scratches on the rim.

Details:

Length: 6.4″ / 162.5mm

Bowl Width: 0.88 / 22.35mm

Bowl Depth: 2.04″ / 51.81mm

Weight: 2.8oz / 80g