German Estates: Frank Axmacher Sandblasted Koisi (2014) Tobacco Pipe

Meaning "river stone" in Japanese, Frank Axmacher's Koisi shape displays a highly organic nature, fitting into the German carver's often naturalistic and evocative shaping style. It's a design he's rendered quite often, and each iteration is marked by at least two distinctly ovoid aspects — indicative of the form's name. In this piece, the bowl and shank are separated by a creased transition, lending visual weight to both elements and reinforcing their smoothly rounded, stone-like shaping. Moreover, Axmacher has oriented the axes of the shank and bowl asymmetrically, adding further organicism to the composition and aligning with the natural grain structure of the briar. Such intentional carving gives the impression of this pipe having been found in nature — on the bed of some shallow mountain stream — rather than carved in a workshop. It's all dressed in a handsome sandblast, and the stem is fitted at a dramatically vertical angle, Axmacher having opted for a traditional saddle affair rather than echoing the stummel's shaping as he often does.