Moonlight Pipes “Stump-Punk” Oom Paul Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Description

While some pipe-makers take inspiration from the natural world, or from the technologies of present and past, few of them in the contemporary seek to represent these forms in their work. Czech artisan Ondrej Bárta of Moonlight pipes does just that, in a way that recalls the intricate, figural carvings of briar pipes from the turn of the 20th century. But Ondrej also departs from the figural approach of early briar pipes by combining it with high-grade materials and a careful attention to grain patterns that is far more modern.

If you’re familiar with Ondrej Bárta’s work, you’ll know that three things that commonly feature in his portfolio are natural and industrial motifs, and Oom Paul renditions. In the case of this pipe (and has been a shared theme in our most recent batch of Moonlight Pipes), Bárta has combined all three into yet another highly novel rendition of that classic shape. In a manner not entirely dissimilar from the works of Paul Larrysson Hubartt, the main body of this pipe has been carved in the image of a tree stump, with the beginnings of its roots emerging and “spreading out” toward the bottom half of its bowl. The shank, on the other hand, quickly transitions into something far more inorganic, with one of Bárta’s signature brass military mounts securing the pipe’s hand-cut cumberland stem, in which is also inlaid a flare of black ebonite (cumberland has also been used as a plug at the base of the shank, cavalier-style, for easy cleaning). It’s a very fitting design for a sturdy sitter like this one, all things considered, though it’s also one that still manages to pleasantly surprise.

 

Details:

Length: 4.5″ / 114.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.79 / 20.06mm

Bowl Depth: 1.71″ / 43.43mm

Weight: 2.2oz / 64g