Ser Jacopo Calumet 03 Smooth Cavalier w/ Silver Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

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.

The Calumet is one of Ser Jacopo’s signature designs, and one of a number of variations on a specific theme within Italian pipe making. Interestingly, however, the theme itself was not born in Italy, but in the Americas. Though it is easily mistaken for a cavalier rendition (to the point where even I have labeled it as such for the sake of tapping into the popular imagination), it is technically not a cavalier at all. The name, “Calumet” instead refers to the ceremonial pipes of Native American tribes, whose pipes were often similarly distinguished by a shank that protrudes far beyond the base of the bowl, in what is sometimes referred to as a “T-shape.” In the Native American context, this unusual figure was often more decorative than anything else, unlike the European cavalier’s “foot,” which served to house a drainage plug. The Ser Jacopo rendition is similarly ornate in nature, paying tribute to the indigenous pipe smokers of the American plains and creating something very beautiful in its own right in the process.

This pipe is completely unsmoked and comes with its original presentation case and sleeve.

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.85 / 21.59mm

Bowl Depth: 1.98″ / 50.29mm

Weight: 2.2oz / 64g