Italian Estates: Becker Rusticated Bent Bulldog (1979-1983) Tobacco Pipe

We have seen quite a few pipes from Becker in our years, each from one of the three generations of pipe makers that began with Fritz Becker, an Austrian who fled to Italy in the wake of Hitler's coming onslaught. Fritz sadly passed away in 1991, and his artisan legacy was continued by his son, Paolo. This bent Bulldog, being made sometime between 1979 and 1983, offers quite a unique form from Becker, and, given its age, was likely worked on by both Fritz and Paolo. The Bulldog, both in straight and bent varieties, is a rare shape from Becker across all three generations of artisans, making this piece a truly alluring prospect for enthusiasts of the workshop's pipes. The transition here is wide, with plenty of room to drape a digit, and it gives way to a diamond-shaped shank that tapers to meet an impressively sleek saddle stem possessed of a demure downturn at its bit. The bowl sits atop a rounded heel and grows its walls with a measured flare to a high-set waist here marked with twin beadlines, these beadlines additionally denoting a taper to the rim. There's a slight bulge of briar beneath the transition which lends this pipe an enhanced sense of curvature, pulling the eye to the stummel's contours and the inky, craggy rustication which dresses it.