Ser Jacopo Magnum Smooth Billiard w/ Silver Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

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 well as they looked.

Originally, the so-called Pesaro School (of which Giancarlo Guidi was a veritable founder) was less about daring and extravagant designs and more about hand-crafting superlative renditions of classical shapes. Often these renditions had a little “Italian” flair to them, but they were, nonetheless, modest in form, even if these forms were executed with precision and a genuine beauty. Today, Ser Jacopo has largely moved into the realm of fantastical designs that are close to works of art—and are, indeed, often inspired by fine art from the last two centuries. But the Ser Jacopo workshop never wholly abandoned the original Pesaro School aesthetic, with pipes like this one being testament to that. It is, at its core, a classical, large billiard, reminiscent of, say, a slightly larger version of the Dunhill OD 835. Yet despite its size, it is elegant and understated, with a warm, reddish-brown stain, a jet-black Lucite stem, and a touch of sterling silver collaring its shank.

The condition is good. Minor rim darkening and a few slight scratches and handling marks on the bowl.

 

Details:

Length: 7″ / 177.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.88 / 22.35mm

Bowl Depth: 1.97″ / 50.03mm

Weight: 2.8oz / 80g