Ser Jacopo Maxima S2 Partially Sandblasted Billiard 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.

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.

With this one, I was quite surprised that it was just the one Maxima designation, as it is a veritable magnum—or, at the very least, a mini magnum—of a pipe. In contrast to some of the workshop’s more ornate designs, this one keeps things simple, taking the form of a tremendously large, yet still very classical, billiard rendition, in a manner perhaps more typical of a midcentury London factory make, or a North American artisan, than an Italian workshop. That’s by no means to its detriment, of course, and judging by the finishing alone on this Ser Jacopo, I’d imagine even an English or Anglo-American purist would have a hard time passing it up.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating, and comes with its original sleeve.

Details:

Length: 7.1″ / 180.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.94 / 23.87mm

Bowl Depth: 2.11″ / 53.59mm

Weight: 3.1oz / 90g