Japanese Estates: Takeo Arita Partially Rusticated Freehand with Boxwood (173) (Y) (2006) (Unsmoked) Tobacco Pipe

One of Japan's most accomplished artisans, Takeo Arita is a veritable master of sculptural, architectural designs in his pipes, and this is no surprise given his experience in architectural design before becoming a pipe maker. The son of artisan Shizuo Arita, Takeo took a very different direction in his pipe making, with a body of work that spans a myriad of shapes, many of which showcase a palpable momentum and are full of crisp ridgelines and sturdy panels. This Freehand showcases the aforementioned ridgelines extremely well, presenting with a projecting, momentous sense of flow throughout its build that places emphasis on the silhouette and draws the eye immediately toward the bowl.

The silhouette of this pipe is immediately evocative of an arrow mid-flight, though one which has just pierced the surface of water, as the shank lifts out of the wide transition to angle the stummel. The bowl itself takes on a compressed, arrowhead-like shape which is pointed at the fore thanks to an array of ridges that flow and wrap around the aft side, where the ridges are separated to accommodate the shank and create a broad, curving panel. The ridges meet each other at the fore end of the bowl's flanks, with two framing a central line which the briar slopes into, creating the firm, sharp edge of the arrowhead. These ridges additionally split the bowl into two halves at the top and bottom, with the bottom side afforded a touch of extra curvature and a belly-like look, while the top orients the chamber at the far fore, further developing this pipe's complex sense of momentum. The transition angles the shank upward and grants the profile its unique, refraction-like trajectory, where the bowl's complex lines appear as distortions in the water's surface. The shank proper is a trim extension of briar that meets a black band of vulcanite followed by a broad, flaring accent of boxwood, here stylized in a lenticular shape which is defined once more by crisp ridges. Paired to the shank is a comparatively lengthy stem of black vulcanite whose base is flared out into an expansion ring that complements the firm lines of the boxwood shank extension. The twin halves of the bowl are both dressed in a dimpled rustication pattern stained a jet-black, contrasting the vibrant auburn stain across the rest of the stummel, one which unveils a wrapping pattern of flame grain flowing through the flanks of the briar.