Castello: Collection Great Line Bent Dublin (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. The bowl of this bent Dublin is hearty and offers a respectable chamber depth, while a pronounced, rounded heel is displayed below, the size of the bowl belying this pipe's overall length of just over five and a half inches. Despite being a member of Castello's Great Line series, this is a strikingly light pipe, and one whose comparatively small dimensions keep it remarkably handy. A wide transition lends plenty of room to drape a digit and works well with the contours of the bowl to offer a comfortable feel in hand, the transition's openness speaking to the acrobatic nature of its shank and stem. Dressed in the rich, deep stain of the Collection finish, the stummel here showcases a wealth of wrapping flame grain around the bowl.