Tsuge Ikebana: Smooth Bent Apple (Kikuchi) (H) (043) (21) Tobacco Pipe

Meaning "living flowers" and named in reference to Japan's lauded flower-arrangement art form, Tsuge's Ikebana workshop comprises three artisans who individually carve pipes under the Ikebana name. A similar, organic aesthetic often unites the workshop's pipes, regularly showcasing distinctively Japanese interpretations of Danish shapes, yet each carver retains their own personal design style, with this bent Apple having been fashioned by Asami Kikuchi.

Kikuchi joined the workshop in 2013 after being mentored by Ikebana's supervisor, Kazuhiro Fukuda, and her personal aesthetic is one that often reveals plump, chubby iterations or sleek, aerodynamic designs — with Freehand and classic shapes alike. The bent Apple represents her traditional fare, and it's a conveniently sized piece despite the bowl's rounded muscularity. Beautiful in its reservation and simplicity, this piece draws on Danish design cues to present a composition that prioritizes genteel lines and soft curves, though the flattened rim adds a touch of accenting angularity and drifts from the Danish rounded-rim convention. Though plump and palm-filling, the stummel is lightened in profile by a forward-surging posture, as every line in the composition pushes toward the fore. Dressed in a traditional, auburn stain, the finish highlights the briar's natural grain, with vertical grain covering the flanks and birdseye populating the underside.