Italian Estates: Castello Old Antiquari Pot (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. A stout pipe with some impressive dimensions, this straight Pot measures in at more than six inches long and boasts a robust bowl with ample surface area for the fingers to wrap around. A wide transition leaves plenty of room to drape a thumb and starts the gradual taper of the shank, paired here to a jet-black acrylic stem that continues the shank's taper. The bowl sits atop a rounded, pronounced heel, though not so much as the Italian workshop's iconic "55" shape, and the walls that grow out of it take on their own gentle taper to the rim. The wealth of material possessed by this pipe offers a fantastic surface for the dark stain and crisp sandblast of the Old Antiquari finish, offering handsome grain and ample texture.