Rowlette Unigena Rusticated Billiard (C) (Maxima Maxima Maxima) Tobacco Pipe

Ser Jacopo's story began in 1982 when Giancarlo Guidi and Bruto Sordini left Mastro de Paja to start their own firm. In the spirit of the Pesaro school of pipe making that it helped found, the company takes traditional English and French shapes and recreates them in fanciful ways, taking an ornate, independent approach to the craft. Sordini left the company in the late 1980s to strike out on his own, but Guidi continued turning pipes at Ser Jacopo until he passed away in 2012 at the age of 64. Though without its founder, the company lives on, carrying on the traditions of the Pesaro school to this day.

This Billiard is stamped "Maxima" three times to denote its large dimensions. At more than one-quarter of a pound in weight and 7.85 inches in length, it's remarkable for its size alone, but Ser Jacopo didn't stop there. The rustication is absolutely fascinating, with concave squares like those of a waffle ringing around the top of the bowl and a finer but still deep and craggy rustication on the lower portion near the heel. That finer rustication continues back to the junction, where the saddle stem of black acrylic stretches back from a short set of shoulders. It's a very ambitious piece all around on Ser Jacopo's part and one sure to fit in with any collection of fine Italian pipes.