Ser Jacopo Rowlette Maxima Wax Drip Dublin Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

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.

Ser Jacopo’s Rowlette belongs to a veritable genre of high-end Italian finishes, in a manner not unlike the varieties of stony rustication seen across the nation’s workshops. That genre would be the “wax drip,” an approach to finishing that sits on the line between rustication and figural carving, emulating the look of a candle after many hours ablaze. To my knowledge, the earliest major example in the Italian context is that of Castello and the Epoca series, though by the end of the 20th century, the finish had made its way far and wide across Italian pipes. The Rowlette is Ser Jacopo’s rendition, one that tends to be characterized by a little more depth than its peers, and adds a rustication to the remainder of the pipe, giving it even more texture. This one is a particularly large example of the Rowlette, taking the form of an oversized Dublin rendition in the workshop’s “Maxima” grouping.

The condition is great. Some inner rim darkening and very minor finish fading.

Details:

Length: 6.6″ / 167.6mm

Bowl Width: 0.90 / 22.86mm

Bowl Depth: 1.93″ / 49.02mm

Weight: 2.3oz / 68g