Ph. Vigen Smooth Brandy Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

Description

Jes Phillip Vigen Gertsen, known professionally as Ph. Vigen, is a relatively mysterious figure within Danish pipe-making. His work is distinct and recognizable, and has garnered significant attention and acclaim from collectors, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him photographed. It is known that he worked at WO Larsen under foreman Hans “Former” Nielsen, that he made pipes for S. Bang and Pibe Dan (later Pipe Dan), and that he made high-grades for Bjarne Nielsen’s Bjarne make (and subsequently retired from pipe-making after Bjarne’s death). Yet little else has been documented. Still, Vigen’s pipes are, quite understandably, prized, especially since Vigen stopped making pipes over a decade ago, in 2008.

Just as Ilsted was a master of the facet, Vigen was a master of the short and the squat. His bowls are typically broad, whether they’re paneled or plump (as in this instance), but the pipes overall are typically a little less long, giving the former an even more exaggerated aesthetic. This one is a voluptuous and very Danish brandy shape, with extraordinary straight grain and a tortoiseshell stem that complements the almost tiger-stripe orange hue of the stummel just marvelously. We don’t get many Vigen pipes at all, so this is a rare treat even if I’ll only get to know the pipe by eye, and very briefly.

The condition is great. Some very light bowl scratches and a tiny bit of inner rim darkening.

 

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.79 / 20.06mm

Bowl Depth: 1.38″ / 35.05mm

Weight: 1.9oz / 54g