Castello: Collection Occhio di Pernice Bent Apple (K) 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. This bent Apple is a remarkably sinuous pipe, balancing all its supple curves with an arcing stretch of shank and stem that lifts out of a wide transition. This shank and stem boast a continuous taper through to the button, and the pair's impressively vertical reach afford the composition a comfortable smoking posture and gestural demeanor. The sleek shank and stem nicely balance the presence of the bowl, a pert, plump, bulb of briar that stands atop a rounded heel at the fore, its walls displaying ample curvature for a comfortable feel in hand. This pipe is dressed in the rich, smoky hues of the Collection finish and has earned the "Occhio di Pernice" stamping, which designates it for the excellent birdseye that can be seen across both flanks of the stummel.