Tsuge Ikebana: Smooth Bent Apple (Fukuda) (K) (072) (2015) Tobacco Pipe

Kazuhiro Fukuda is a master artisan pipe maker and a former student of the legendary Sixten Ivarsson. But even such an education as that can do little without natural talent, and Fukuda's talent is on fine display in this smooth Apple.

Note, for example, the shaping of the bowl with its perfect arc along the heel and that arc's subtle diminishment as it rises to the concise rim, which while relatively narrow is beautifully curved itself and reminiscent of treatments by many heralded Danish carvers. The tight edging of the transition accentuates the perfect shaping of the bowl as it joins to the wide shank, which is elliptical and more obviously dominant from an aerial perspective. The ridgeline of the shank is soft and located along the left side, providing an asymmetrical appeal when viewed in contrast to the gentle curve of the right side. The softly domed aspect of the end of the shank is counterbalanced by the demure single expansion ring at the base of the mouthpiece, which maintains little visual precedence in comparison and redirects the visual weight forward to the voluptuous bowl. The grain is vertically oriented and rises along the flanks of the bowl in consistent, fine tendrils, while the underside and top of the shank displays tight flecks of birdseye. Every aspect of this pipe shouts perfection, and in an appealing shape that would elevate any collection.