Castello Old Antiquari 3K Sandblasted Poker w/ Lucite Mount Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

In the world of pipes, Italy is famous for its workshops—institutions that operate at a smaller scale to factories, but in which expert artisans work tirelessly to create pipes entirely by hand. Founded in 1947 by Carlo Scotti, Castello is one of the oldest and most renowned of these workshops, and Castello pipes are often spoken of as Italy’s answer to England’s famous Dunhill pipes. Known for its equally high-grade smooth, sandblasted, and rusticated finishes, Castello’s legacy is felt not only in the continued success of the make itself, but also in the various, similarly high-end workshops founded by former Castello craftsmen, such as Caminetto, Radice, and Ascorti.

The Old Antiquari is Castello’s flagship sandblast line, typically finished with a warm, reddish tan hue. In the case of this one, however, it’s been dressed slightly differently, not unlike how some contemporary smooth Castellos wear a golden contrast finish of sorts. It works just as well with this Old Antiquari, especially when paired with the Castello workshop’s distinctive approach to blast finishes. As I’ve mentioned before, Castello sandblasting falls somewhere between the “Anglo-American approach” and “Italian approach” to such finishes, typically pairing the deep and craggy, ring grain texturing of the former with an added emphasis on the briar’s vertical lines, expressed as a rugged, “netted” relief. One especially interesting thing about this Old Antiquari is its beaded Lucite army mount. In its early years, Castello made frequent use of army mounts, typically Lucite ones, though they seemed to have become far less common as the decades went by. Those were more “standard” in design for a mount, however, and even with their relative increase in frequency in contemporary Castellos, they aren’t typically like this one (and when they are, they’re more likely to be silver and mounted on a Great Line). This one is an interesting exception, and fits the overall poker shaping very well, I’d say.

The condition is great. Possibly some minor rim darkening, but pipe does not appear to have been smoked much at all.

Details:

Length: 6.1″ / 154.9mm

Bowl Width: 0.77 / 19.55mm

Bowl Depth: 1.72″ / 43.68mm

Weight: 1.3oz / 38g