Tsuge Ikebana: Smooth Tomato (Kikuchi) (H) (042) (2021) Tobacco Pipe

Ikebana translates literally to "living flowers" — a reference to the highest form of Japanese flower arrangment — and Tsuge's top three artisan pipe makers take the name seriously. Only those three select individuals craft the pipes that come from the Japanese marque's Ikebana workshop, which is supervised by master carver Kazuhiro Fukuda, an artisan who traveled to Denmark to learn from none other than Sixten Ivarsson himself. This fine rendition was crafted by Asami Kikuchi, a talented sculptural artist who underwent a traditional apprenticeship under Fukuda before joining the Ikebana workshop 2013.

While some of her pipes are a mixture of smooth curves and precise ridgelines, this Tomato is an exquisite compilation of curvature, directing my eye around like liquid and not allowing it to catch on any distracting interruption. The bowl is plump and squat, as the traditional shape demands, but with a little more weight imbued in the upper margins than the lower, giving it a vertical energy and implied sense of motion. The transition is nearly seamless, naturally marking the demarcation between the supple bowl and the elegant shank. Said shank tapers to join the stem's base, the latter gently and subtly flared at its shoulders before mirroring the transition as it reduces to a svelte, handcrafted fishtail. It's hard to imagine a pipe more streamlined and supple in hand, and I find myself not wanting to waste time in the attempt; this piece demands my full attention, the bengaline contrast stain and smooth finish drawing the gaze in and not letting go.