Italian Estates: Castello Collection Occhio di Pernice Bent Billiard (KKK) (2005) Tobacco Pipe

The name Castello, "castle" in Italian, is meant to evoke an aura of pleasant fantasy. Founded by Carlo Scott in 1947, Castello became a trendsetting marque, being among the first Italian brands to market luxury, hand-made pipes and helping to set the bowl-centric and whimsical standards typical of Italian neoclassicism. This Castello pipe is not your typical bent Billiard and is rather reserved in shaping and color for the Italian marque. At first glance, with its elongated oval shank and tapered stem, it might appear to be a Canadian. Like a Canadian, this pipe's shank is a flattened oval, which makes for a low transition that accentuates the bowl's height and slight curvature. Though quite short for Canadians, the shank is noticeably longer than the bowl is tall, and the acrylic stem is quite abbreviated for a Billiard. Upon further examination, though, it is clear that the stem has an elegant, Prince-like bend to it, thus altering one of the fundamental features of a Canadian: the shank and stem must be straight. The smooth Collection finish, colored a dark amber, highlights the exceptional nests of birdseye ocelli clustered along the bowl's flanks that earned the pipe its revered Occhio di Pernice designation.