Tsuge Ikebana: Smooth Bent Apple with Bamboo (Fukuda) (N) (2018) Tobacco Pipe

Kazuhiro Fukuda is the supervisor of Tsuge Ikebana workshop, initially founded by Tsuge when the marque sent several of their talented artisans, Fukuda being one of them, to Denmark to study under pipe-making legends Sixten Ivarsson and Jorgen Larsen. The Danish influence is evident in the supple curves and soft features that mark the workshop's shapes, often blending functional utility with genuine craft. The Ikebana name translates to "living flowers" in English, referring to the highest form of Japanese flower arrangements, designed to instill peace and encourage an appreciation for the natural world, an apt descriptor of the workshop's design sense, as evidenced by this bent Apple.

The bowl of this piece features a softly rounded bowl with a stout, broad, low-slung disposition vaguely reminiscent of a Pot. The plump heel of the bowl possesses a whisper of extra briar that subtly extends past the transition. The abbreviated shank that extends from the tight-knit transition, which showcases a lively bit of cheeking, is extended by two knuckles of bamboo, lending an organic note to the pipe's profile. The gradually flaring of the shank is topped off by an abbreviated saddle stem of jet-black vulcanite, arcing for a comfortable smoking posture. This piece wears a lovely, honey-blonde smooth finish that perfectly encapsulates tight bands of flame grain that flow across the flanks from the heel to the birdseye-adorned, gently chamfered rim. It's a sleek, handsome design, one that cannot help but exude charm.