Italian Estates: Castello 'Castello' Dublin with Gold (KKKK) 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. Castello doesn't often craft straight Dublin renditions, with bent iterations being far more prevalent in their portfolio, making this pipe something of a rarity from the workshop. Sleek and nicely balanced, this piece boasts a wide transition that gives way to a tapering shank and stem combination, the junction accented with a warm band of gold. This gold band pulls the eye back a bit from the bowl, with this bowl standing atop a pronounced heel and showcasing a measured, but expressive, flare out to a broad rim: complete with enough curvature to be comfortable in the hand. The sharpness of this pipe's lines lends the composition an aerodynamic look that's rich with dynamism, all with enough surface area to admirably showcase Castello's eponymous, mahogany-tinged stain.