Castello: Collection Paneled Pot (K) Tobacco Pipe

One of the biggest names in Italian pipe making today, Castello's roots can be traced back to 1947, when Carlo Scotti founded the workshop and began producing handmade briar pipes. In a time of quantity over quality in Italy's pipe-making history, Scotti flipped the script by prioritizing craftsmanship, high-quality materials, and cutting-edge engineering. Today, the brand remains committed to these principles, producing impeccably made pipes like this paneled Pot.

This offering beautifully balances compact and muscular proportions and round and angular forms. Most notable are the crisp "U"-shaped panels, which don't quite span the full width of the bowl. Said panels inform the shape of the rim, lending it an octagonal shape. While the walls of the bowl are straight and angular, the heel of the bowl remains plump and rounded, as does the shank-and-stem arrangement. The abbreviated length of said arrangement further emphasizes its round form, giving it a muscular appearance.

As a Castello pipe, this piece showcases not only excellent shaping cues, but excellent grain as well. Beautiful birdseye eddies along the rim of the bowl and the top of the shank, and flame grain flickers along the bowl's paneled walls. The gorgeous grain of this piece is brought out by a smooth, honey-hued stain — Castello's Collection finish.