Savinelli Pigna, A little art history

It’s so Italian, it’s almost a cliche, flashy design to make something naturally spectacular even more show-stopping. The Savinelli Pigna Series follows in the footsteps of ancient and modern artistic giants by paying homage to the simple, but mysterious pine cone.

The Pigna’s significance

Pigna literally means pine cone in Italian. The Italian culture, documented as far back as the Roman empire, honored the triangular simplicity of the pine cone. Even one of Rome’s Administrative Divisions was named for the humble seed, The Rione Della Pigna (literally The District of the Pine Cone) .

Perhaps the best known example of the pine cone in Italian culture is the Pigna sculpture at The Vatican, which is the largest known pine cone in the world. The bronze statue once stood sentry beside the temple of Isis, before moving to The Basilica of St. Peters and finally to the Vatican. The Fontana della Pigna is grandly displayed in a high niche in the wall of the Vatican, facing the Cortile della Pigna.

The pine cone is a prominent feature in artistic traditions from ancient Egypt, Greece and more. Even the Freemasons used the symbol in their messages and cryptic art.

Historians believe the pine cone to be a representation of the Pineal Gland, more commonly called the Third Eye. The gland was believed--and still is, by some traditions--to lie at the geometric center of the brain. As Descartes called it, the seat of the soul.

A literal translation

As Savinelli’s designers created their take on this ancient symbol, the Pigna took a Romanesque and completely literal translation. Virgin briar seamlessly transitions to an emerald stem reminiscent of marble. Briar of this type is unique and rare--requiring the most perfect briar to avoid fills of any type, which will be all-to-noticeable without stain to conceal them.

The bowl is rustically carved, it’s beauty will be unique to your pipe and continue to develop as you smoke this stunning tobacco pipe.

Pigna Series Variations

Savinelli artfully shows off the Pigna design in the 616 KS, 141 KS, 345 KS and 602 models. These pipes are likely to always be a small and unique batch from Savinelli’s vast repertoire. Not to be missed by collector or philosopher alike.

The Pigna and Smoking a Pipe

We can’t help but find the pigna, in it’s traditional interpretation, a perfect literal homage to smoking a tobacco pipe.

Descartes described the connecting of soul and body extensively in his writings about the Pineal Gland and descriptions of the Pigna symbology. As Dr. Carl Calleman points out in The Global Mind and the Rise of Civilization, the famous Pigna at the Vatican falls on the dividing line of Eastern and Western hemispheres, literally the global Pineal Gland.

How many of us have described smoking a tobacco pipe, as the perfect combination of meditation and action?

The physical and cerebral coming together in a few quiet moments.

Nearly every conversation we have with long-term pipe smokers mentions the peacefulness and meditative qualities in some way.

Our apologies if we’ve become a bit philosophical on this subject. We are constantly striving to be accessible, in a culture sometimes difficult for newcomers to navigate. After all, the Savinelli Pigna series, and the history it invokes, reminds us that we are all humble newcomers in the favored hobby of some of humanity’s greatest philosophical, creative and scientific minds. However, we can’t help but feel that if pine cones represent the seat of the human soul, then the Savinelli Pigna Pipes are an exceptional rendering of the soul of our favorite hobby--carved in a medium just as unforgiving as its more famous bronze brothers.