Viprati Extra 4 Clover XL Smooth Oom Paul Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

Much like in Denmark or Japan, many of the great names in Italian artisan pipe-making got their start working for other greats in their famous workshops. This was the case for artisans such as Giancarlo Guidi, Luigi Radice, Sergio Ascorti, and Maurizio Tombari. Luigi Viprati, on the other hand, is one of the few self-taught Italian pipe-makers of the 20th century to have reached the same heights as such contemporaries. First picking up the craft in 1972, Viprati would ultimately become one of the defining names in Italian pipes, which he remains to this day.

Most of Luigi Viprati’s pipes are graded using the stamp of a four leaf clover, or quadrifoglio, with grades ranging from one quadrifoglio to five quadrifogli. This Viprati is a very respectable four quadrifogli, no doubt in part due to the mesmerizing bird’s-eye grain covering its bowl, but it’s also something else. It is an extra grade, meaning it also one of Luigi Viprati’s larger pipes, comparable to the “semi-giant” stature of Dunhill’s OD shapes or Peterson’s House Pipes. Speaking of Peterson, this Viprati Oom Paul does bear a striking resemblance to some of the former’s Deluxe System pipes, especially in its sterling collar and “space-fitting” style mount. Perhaps Luigi was paying tribute to Peterson with this one. He no doubt still managed to make it is own, though.

The condition is great. Some minor wear to the rim, but the pipe has clearly been taken care of.

 

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 1.02 / 25.90mm

Bowl Depth: 2.5″ / 63.50mm

Weight: 4.3oz / 122g