Castello: Old Antiquari Billiard (KK) Tobacco Pipe

When Carlo Scotti founded Castello in 1947, he set out to redefine the image of Italian pipes in the minds of pipe buyers at the time. By marketing the handmade aspect of his pipes — in contrast to the plethora of factory-made pipes flooding the market — he elevated the status of his company, while also helping to set the bowl-centric and whimsical shaping ideals now common in Italian neoclassic pipe making. Possessing a slender shank and petite bowl, this Billiard from Castello is a streamlined rendition of the traditional shape, with an approach to shaping that is more on the conservative side for the Italian workshop. Though small, with its balanced proportions, the pipe perfectly embodies the essence of the archetypal Billiard. Combined with the arrow-straight shank's pairing to a slim, gracefully tapered vulcanite stem, the bowl's chaste forward cant lends the pipe a forward flowing energy. The smooth nomenclature panel along the stummel's underside, with its tan hue and flat surface provides both a way for the pipe to stand erect and a juxtaposition to the dark sandblast dressing the rest of the stummel. Growth rings, made evident by the Old Antiquari sandblasted finish, emanate from the heel and climb the height of the bowl, guided by subtle rays of flame grain.