Castello: Collection Bent Dublin (Big Line) 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's Big Line series is quite the interesting one, as it comprises stummels made from briar that has been aged for 12 years, ensuring that the final burl is excellently cured by the time it is shaped. Also, it designates pipes that are really, really large, which this bent Dublin certainly is. An excellent example of Castello's fairly whimsical, indelibly Italian approach to Freehand shaping, this piece presents a fine balance of muscular proportions and a playful sense of line. The spiraling, fluting lines highlight the expert craftsmanship of the piece, while also allowing the vivid flame grain to be proudly displayed. It's a hearty handful of a smoker of course, but the workshop's made excellent use of its overt size, fashioning it from a block of some excellent briar, topped with a rim of craggy plateau.