Micoli (Robert Burns) Special Selection XL Freehand Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Of all the artisans to have come out of the first, great wave of American freehand carvers in the post-war decades, Robert “Micoli” Burns is by far one of the most unique—which is saying something, considering his close contemporaries are individuals such as Michael Kabik, Randy Wiley, and Joe Mariner. He also remains one of the most celebrated, which is equally impressive given the number of high-grade American artisans who have taken up the craft across the course of Burns’ long career.

Robert Burns’ background in the arts is something that is palpable in just about everything he makes. Whether his designs lean closer to classical pipe shapes and styles, or indeed in the case of this one, which leans toward functional sculpture, there is an artist’s touch that is plainly evident. In this particular Micoli—from Special Selection series no less—we see Burns’ signature rustication technique applied in a very unique way. Unlike most artisans, workshops, or factories, Burn rusticates his pipes using a Dremel, rather than the more typical hand-pick. This allows him to create a large variety of unique pipes and, in this instance, to craft an almost figural scene, yet with the tobacco pipe itself as its subject. At the risk of appearing pretentious, one could call it “metatextual” in this way. Much of the pipe is, after all, a quite traditional Dublin. Yet as soon as one nears its base, we find a great mass of writhing burl, some of which has been created via deliberate rustication, and some of which appears to be the root’s natural plateaux. The result is not only an excellent, finely grained pipe, but a “living sculpture” of sorts, through which one can almost see the taming of matter by form in real time.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. It comes with its original wooden presentation box and sleeve.

Details:

Length: 7″ / 177.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.77 / 19.55mm

Bowl Depth: 1.37″ / 34.79mm

Weight: 2.5oz / 72g