Ping Zhan: Sandblasted Fugu Tobacco Pipe

While Chinese carver Ping Zhan worked as a software engineer for a number of years, he always harbored dreams of pursuing a career in the arts. Attracted to three-dimensional art, Zhan became cognizant of pipe making and saw a way to realize his creative aspirations through the medium of briar. Taking inspiration from the Danish and Japanese pipe-making traditions, Ping Zhan developed a style that prioritized deft line work, gorgeous finishes, and a distinctly organic aesthetic, with all three of those elements represented by this stunning Fugu.

This Fugu features a vertically compressed, ridgeline-wrapped bowl that stands at the fore of a lengthy shank and a demurely curved mouthpiece of jet-black vulcanite. The aforementioned ridgelines lend a lopsided asymmetry to the bowl and frame broad, rounded flanks. The ridgelines terminate at the transition in delightful spurs that mimic the appearance of a fish's pectoral fins. Like the bowl, the shank is also uneven, flaring outward to a wide, uneven shank face that mirrors the look of the transition. Dressing this piece is a dark sandblast that highlights gorgeous birdseye across the bowl's flanks and captivating ring grain along the bowl's fore and aft.