Tsuge Ikebana: Sandblasted Acorn with Horn (Fukuda) (H) (095) (2021) Tobacco Pipe

Tsuge Ikebana consists of three talented artisans that share a workshop but craft their pipes under their individual names. In English, "Ikebana" translates to "living flower," which is the highest form of Japanese flower arrangement and meant to encourage appreciation of the natural world. The name accurately reflects the workshop's style and approach to pipe making, with the workshop's supervisor Kazuhiro Fukuda particularly adept at rendering organic forms. He studied under Sixten Ivarsson in the 1970s, and Fukuda's shaping style showcases an obvious affinity for the soft features, elegant lines, and refined character of Danish pipe making.

This Acorn features a plump, muscular bowl that gradually tapers to slightly pronounced but mostly round heel. The bowl's thick insulating walls fill the hand with substance and weight, while concealing a modest tobacco chamber. The shank ebbs from the low-set transition before giving way to cream- and mocha-hued mount of horn, which provides a flash of vibrancy to the pipe's otherwise shadowy color palette. A jet-black vulcanite mouthpiece tops off the design and makes a subtle downturn near its bit for a comfortable smoking posture. A rugged, dark sandblast dresses the stummel and unveils pronounced growth rings that stack up the flanks of the bowl and terminate at a rim covered in craggy plateau. A bold, handsome design, this piece showcases Fukuda's years of experience in the craft, and it will no doubt become a prized part of any pipe smoker's collection.