Tsuge Ikebana: Smooth Tomato with Horn (Fukuda) (R) (146) (2021) Tobacco Pipe

The Tsuge Ikebana workshop consists of three artisans — Kazuhiro Fukuda, Yoshirou Ohi, and Asami Kikuchi — who individually craft pipes under the Ikebana name. Kazuhiro Fukuda is the workshop's supervisor and was one of the initial carvers that Tsuge sent to Denmark to study under Sixten Ivarsson. With decades of pipe making experience, Fukuda is a venerated carver, and his mastery of the craft is on full display with this Tomato.

A dynamic composition, this piece boasts a broad, muscular bowl that stands at the fore of an upturned shank and a demurely curved saddle stem. Said bowl cants dramatically at the fore of the composition and lends the design an active appearance in profile. Additionally, the bowl displays a steady flare from its lifted heel to its wide, plateau-crowned rim. A creamy ferrule of horn extends the shank and features a flared face that naturally leads the eye to the stem. The accent's rich color palette matches that of the finish, which comprises a bright, glossy stain that highlights gorgeous flame grain across the bowl's flanks.