Viprati Smooth Pot w/ Silver 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.

As I noted in the last Viprati that landed on my desk, there is something quite luxurious about these pipes. While high-grade Italian pipes do tend to lean toward a more refined aesthetic, Luigi Viprati rarely misses an opportunity to show to the world that his pipes are a little special. This one combines a pot-shaped bowl and diamond shank—one with plenty of flame grain under its distinctly Italian, blonde stain—with a silver faux spigot, an exotic wood stem inlay, two black Lucite bands, and a tortoiseshell Lucite stem.

The condition is very good. Some inner rim darkening and a few very small scratches on the bowl.

 

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.88 / 22.35mm

Bowl Depth: 1.42″ / 36.06mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 46g