Jerry Zenn: Sandblasted Tomato with Bamboo Tobacco Pipe

One of East Asia's most prominent pipe makers, Jerry Zenn's earlier career as an auto mechanic helped inform his current profession. The Taiwanese carver is known for his careful attention to the smallest of details, and that precision is notable in this shapely Tomato.

Zenn often employs Danish and Japanese design cues when crafting his pipes, that influence seen in this forward-urging, low-lying and plump-bodied piece. A lifting heel helps further drive the bulbous bowl's dynamism, as does its asymmetrical shaping. A much abbreviated, extra-thin sliver of rounded shank separates the broad-rimmed bowl from the three slender, gnarly nodes of bent bamboo that's integrated into the composition. It's topped, then, by an ebony-hued, hand-cut vulcanite stem for stark contrast, its base continuing the rhythm established by the bamboo. This lightweight, streamlined pipe boasts an aerodynamic profile and is dressed in one of the artisan's earthy, contrast-stained sandblasts, highlighting striking arrays of rippling grain on the expansive base and rim. Excellent work, fans of elegant, organically inclined pipes should be quite pleased.