Italian Estates: Castello Collection Billiard (KKK) (2006) 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. Displaying a thick-walled breadth, this Billiard from Castello presents the bowl-centric shaping style that often comprises Italian pipes, its muscular walls sat atop a firm, pronounced heel. It's paired to a more slender, gradually tapering shank and stem, the neoclassical proportions making for a striking presentation, with a flattened panel on the underside allowing for this pipe's easy sitting. In addition, this flattened portion creates a domed, oval-like shape across the shank and stem, with their angular build standing in stylistic contrast to the bowl's dynamic forward cant. This particular pipe wears the warm, smooth stain of the brand's Collection finish: revealing handsome grain throughout.