Tsuge Ikebana: Smooth Dublin with Bamboo (Kikuchi) (H) (073) (2020)

Structural dynamism imbues this Dublin from Tsuge's Ikebana line with traditional elegance tempered by slender aesthetics for a smoking instrument with polish and elegance. The lightly stained bowl rises dramatically from a concise heel, its flanks populated by fine tendrils of grain rising vertically. The abbreviated shank is pencil-like and joins a long, slim, svelte length of fine bamboo featuring four full knuckles. The base of the stem expands sightly in a taper before stepping down to the flat saddle configuration that comfortably leads to the crisp lip button.

The rim is flat, accentuating the angularity of the composition, and is chamfered around the tobacco chamber. It's a fairly long piece at more than six-and-a-half inches in length, yet retains its elegant lines and demure proportions for an impression of abbreviated dimensions despite its long and comfortable length through which the flow of tobacco smoke should be well directed and efficiently furnished. Few pipes attain the elegance inherent in this composition.