Radice: Underwood Billiard Tobacco Pipe

This Billiard is a unique offering from Radice, and it's one that displays the workshop's Italian neoclassical style well, with the vast majority of the visual weight here placed on the bowl. Said bowl is quite hearty, with a firm heel supporting thick, cylindrical walls as they rise with a bare hint of taper to a flat rim, offering a robust feel in hand. Though the bowl is muscular itself, it's been paired to an extremely slender, ovoid stretch of tapering shank and stem that redoubles the emphasis on the bowl's presence. Dressing the briar of this piece is the Italian workshop's carved and highly textural Underwood rustication, reminiscent of the iconic "melting wax" motif popularized across Italian pipe making and showcased beneath a warm auburn stain.

Luigi Radice was born in 1939 and began his career working with briar in 1961, finding employment at the venerable Castello workshop. While working for the now legendary brand, Luigi met Giuseppe Ascorti, and the two left together in 1968 to found Caminetto, where he stayed for 12 years, before departing to establish Radice in 1980. With help from his son, Gianluca, and his father, Paolo, Luigi began producing pipes in a striking neoclassical style which quickly amassed acclaim from enthusiasts of such stylized works. Luigi was later joined by his other son, Marzio, and the family-run workshop has since become known not just for their unique take on the neoclassical style of pipe making, but their singular accenting and finishing techniques.