Ikebana Smooth Bent Acorn (F) Tobacco Pipe

Of the dozens of shapes that constitutes Tsuge's classic design repertoire, their Acorn is one of their most popular forms. Take one look at this F grade Ikebana and as much becomes understandably so. Personally, I'm taken with the rather pronounced, thrusting uprightness of the bowl, which is accented all the more because of the striking curvature of the shank and the pinched bowl transition. No doubt, the saddle-style stem is a fitting choice for the piece, lending to the composition a sense of grace and dexterity that would have been lost had the pipe been fitted instead with a tapered stem of similar figure. The briar shows off some really lovely straight grain here, which is particularly complementary on the pipe's left side, where the grain fans out near the rim as the bowl's shape widens. Indeed a beautiful design and a marvelous from the master craftsmen at Tsuge.

-- Ted Swearingen