Castello: Old Antiquari Dublin (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. Remarkably sleek and lightweight, this Dublin boasts a wide transition with plenty of room to drape a digit, its shank pushing out in slender fashion to meet a black acrylic military mount. A tapering stem of matching black acrylic marries to the mount, affording the aft side of this pipe a remarkably lithe, gracile demeanor that shifts the visual weight up front while still retaining a balanced look. The bowl here stands atop a rounded heel and flares out gently, mainly at the fore, while the aft wall of the bowl stays rather straight: lending the bowl a dynamic look. The stummel offers a fantastic surface for the dark stain and crisp sandblast of the Old Antiquari finish, offering handsome grain and ample texture.