Italian Estates: Castello Sea Rock Briar (KKK) (35) (1970s-1982) Tobacco Pipe

From the mind of Italian artisan Carlo Scotti, Castello was founded in 1947 to offer handmade pipes that exude quality in both form and function. Working together with Luigi Radice and Peppino Ascorti, the three would serve as key innovators in defining Italian neoclassical pipe design. Posed with a Zulu-esque stance, this bent Billiard from Castello imbues the form with a touch of dynamism. A tall, Stack-like bowl stands at the fore with a slight forward cant, its thick walls reaching high from the rounded heel toward the flat rim, framing a deep chamber that's sure to offer leisurely smoking sessions. Paired to the bowl out back is a low-set oval shank that carries a continuous taper into a gingerly downturned stem, the arrangement emphasizing the visual weight of the bowl. The stem's shimmering acrylic handsomely contrasts the stummel, which wears a dark, craggy rustication courtesy of Castello's Sea Rock Briar finish.