Ser Jacopo: Unigena Rusticated Paneled Billiard Sitter (R1) (E) (Maxima Maxima Maxima Maxima Maxima Maxima Maxima Maxima) Tobacco Pipe

Founded in 1982 by Giancarlo Guidi, Ser Jacopo has built a reputation on crafting high-quality briars that are renowned for their robust proportions and playful shaping cues. The Italian atelier's style has since defined the Pesaro style of pipe making, each of their pipes imbued with a sense of character and reflecting the whimsical creativity that went into crafting them. Though Guidi passed away in 2012, his legacy lives on not only in the pipes he crafted, or the company he founded, but in the language of design that he helped to pioneer. This paneled bent Billiard is part of the workshop's Maxima series, the line denoting pipes that are larger than normal from the Pesaro carvers, where each stamp represents a subsequent increase in size. This particular piece is stamped a full eight times with the designation, making it one of the largest pipes we've seen from the brand. Weighing nearly a pound, the substance of this pipe is not to be trifled with, and its presence in hand is almost domineering, commanding your attention without fail. This impressive hold on one's attention is not simply thanks to the weight, as the bowl's nearly cylindrical shaping is wrapped with an octet of firm panels that add a significant deal of crisp musculature to this pipe's feel when held. A flat heel allows this pipe to stand sturdily without any extra support, and the fore wall has been curved slightly to keep the silhouette closer to a Billiard than a Poker. A wide transition out back gives way to a consistently tapering shank-and-stem combination, the shank being remarkably short compared to both the shank and bowl. Dressed in a craggy rustication, there's plenty of texture on offer beneath the stummel's warm stain, contrasted nicely by smooth sections across all the panels' ridges.