progress information via pv for directory copy

Use rsync --progress [SRC] [DST]

Do check the man rsync page because it has a lot of very useful options. -a for archive is a good start, but it depends on your exact requirements.

Copying through a pipe will unnecessarily slow down the copy process, especially if it is files based.

You could use tar or pax or cpio:

mkdir -p dst &&
  (cd src && tar cf - .) | pv -trb | (cd dst && tar xpf -)

Tar.

tar -cf - /var/log/ | pv | tar -C . -x

Example:

# tar -cf - /var/log/ | pv | tar -C . -x
tar: Removing leading `/' from member names
58MB 0:00:05 [ 2.2MB/s] [                   <=>