Tsuge Ikebana: ***Smooth Acorn with Bamboo (Fukuda) (L) (121) (2017) Tobacco Pipe

Tsuge Ikebana is a Japanese workshop comprised of three talented artisans that craft pipes under the workshop's name, which translates to "living flowers" in English. The workshop began after Tsuge sent several of their experienced carvers in the '60s and '70s to study pipe design in Denmark from the likes of Sixten Ivarsson, among other Danish legends, and sometime afterwards, the prestigious workshop was born. The designs speak to their obvious Danish influence, with the workshop showcasing a penchant for organic materials, supple curves, and soft features.

This particular Acorn boasts an aggressive taper from the bulbous rim to the firm, sharply defined heel, showcasing the creative and vivid shaping that marks a great deal of the workshop's designs. The fore and aft of the bowl are slightly flattened, giving it a compressed aesthetic when viewed from above, without sacrificing the slopping curves and soft lines that comprise the shape. The shank is extended by three knuckles of bamboo, adding an organic quality in profile while perfectly complementing the honey-hued, smooth finish that dresses the stummel. Topped off by a saddle stem of jet-black vulcanite, this piece possesses all the elegant, refined qualities that make pipe making not just a craft, but an art form all its own.