Randy Wiley 1999 Galleon XL Rusticated Freehand Sitter Estate Briar Pipe, American Estates

Description

Beginning his career as a pipe maker in the 1970s, Randy Wiley was a key figure in the new wave of American artisans in the late-20th century pipe scene—and still is today, five decades later. Though he does make some “traditional” pieces, he is, arguably America’s greatest living carver of “freehand” pipes, comparable to Denmark’s Preben Holm or Erik Nording in their prime. And, like Holm and Nording, Wiley has an array of signature finishes at his disposal, resulting in designs that occasionally border on the figural.

In the case of this one, the pipe is dressed in Wiley’s signature Galleon finish, a micro-rustication technique that might be considered somewhere between the famous Italian and Danish approaches. Though it’s a rough and ready freehand much in Wiley’s style, in this instance it’s the form that has a slight figural touch, with its large bowl and long mouthpiece giving it an almost swan-like profile.

The condition is great. Perhaps some very minor inner rim darkening.

Details:

Length: 6.1″ / 154.9mm

Bowl Width: 1.03 / 26.16mm

Bowl Depth: 2.04″ / 51.81mm

Weight: 2.8oz / 82g