Vitale Sandblasted Squat Rhodesian w/ Horn (Two Star) Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Description

As a child, Piero Vitale spent many an afternoon in the workshop of his grandfather, who was a carpenter and luthier. This proclivity for working with his hands translated into a number of artistic pursuits as he grew up, including painting and wood carving. Then Vitale was introduced to the world of handmade pipes by a friend and was immediately fascinated. The work of masters such as Tom Eltang and Kent Rasmussen showed that pipes could be true works of art while also being precisely engineered smoking instruments. For over a decade, Vitale has crafted his own hand made pipes, developing a distinct style that expertly balances form and function. This has led to partnerships with several Italian pipe companies, for which Vitale has provided designs, but his greatest achievements continue to be those pipes that he makes by hand alone in his workshop, in a small village in Lombardy.

Wide-bowled “squat” bulldog and Rhodesian shapes have a firm place in the history of traditional, Anglo-French pipe design, thanks in no small part to Dunhill and its mid-century O and ODA 838 shapes. And then there’s the other tradition, born out of Denmark, in which wide-bowled, “squat” shapes have featured prominently, including in bulldog and Rhodesian renditions. This being, of course, the Danish, or Scandinavian, style, where pipe making conventions have been pushed to their limits since the late 1940s. There’s certainly some of the latter in this Vitale, with the works of masters such as Soren Refbjerg Rasmussen and Tom Eltang being fitting points of comparison, yet there is still something of the Anglo-French renditions to it—something no doubt helped by its reserved, near-black finish. It is also simply very Vitale, leading as it does with a broad bowl clutched by a narrow, horn-accented shank.

 

Details:

Length: 5.3″ / 134.6mm

Bowl Width: 0.74 / 18.79mm

Bowl Depth: 1.03″ / 26.16mm

Weight: 1.5oz / 44g