Italian Estates: Castello 'Castello' Billiard (KKKK) (2019) Tobacco Pipe

Italian workshop Castello has a rich history that stretches back to 1947 with its founding by Carlo Scotti, being established as one of the first Italian brands to offer high-quality handmade pipes to the general public. In the 1960s, following the addition of Luigi Radice and Peppino Ascorti to their team of carvers, Castello's pipes began to take on a form that was quite different from the Anglo-French classics that they and others had been producing. The Italian neoclassical style which they had begun to develop led not only to a shaping renaissance within Italy, but the production of a number of now iconic profiles. Though not part of the elusive Pi series, this pipe is quite unique in the inclusion of a uniquely geometric pattern of panels throughout the bowl, creating a wavering, firm surface that's robust in the hand. A wide transition gives way to a lengthy, tapering shank which is here met by a black stem of more swiftly tapering acrylic, the combination's thickness balancing the visual weight of the bowl well. Said bowl stands atop a pronounced heel and boasts a rather cylindrical outline which is altered by the striking, wavering carving that surround it, though the bowl provides plenty of space to showcase the warm, auburn stain of the workshop's eponymous finish.