Broken stem

July 2012

In addition to being a famous pipe design, this pipe is also a visual joke. The stem of the pipe appears to have been sawn in two parts and put back together with a piece of metal wire. An original design that was first applied in the 1930s by a pipe maker from Saint-Claude. Now the design has been taken back into production by Ser Jacopo Dalla Gemma, a maker from Pesaro in Italy who is known for his beautiful designs in high quality pipes. He brings this design under the name Inoanus. On the stem of the pipe we read his signature and also that it is a handmade object "SER JACOPO FATTA A MANO IN ITALIA". We see the quality of the pipe in the beautiful straight grain of the bowl and the subtle way in which the stem is made, seemingly in two parts but of course in one piece. To reinforce the joke, the onset of the stem bore is reproduced in the broken stem pieces.

Amsterdam Pipe Museum APM 21.359

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