Smooth “Fu Dai” with Bamboo Tobacco Pipe

In 2015, Chinese artisan Li Xin pivoted from furniture building to pipe making, as he sought an alternative hobby that would still allow him to utilize his woodworking skills and personal creativity. By 2016, he was apprenticing full-time under the successful artisan Yang Zhimin. Over the decade since, Xin has cultivated his own distinct style, marked by pleasing proportions, clean lines, and the heavy use of bamboo — qualities that are all displayed by this lovely "Fu Dai."

"Fu Dai" translates to "Lucky Bag" in Mandarin, and I am hard-pressed to think of a more appropriate name for the pipe shown here. The bowl's visual weight rests heavily on the heel, and its walls take on a slouching posture like that of a bag or sack as they taper toward the tilted rim. A dramatically upswept shank-and-stem arrangement completes the composition, transitioning seamlessly into the bowl's forward-jutting heel. Two knuckles of bamboo comprise the shank, imbuing the composition with a strong sense of organicism that's only heightened by the curvaceous, asymmetrical bowl. The stummel wears a smooth, contrast-rich, auburn-hued finish that accentuates both the maelstroms of birdseye that swirl around the bowl's rim and heel and the tight licks of flame grain that climb the walls of the bowl. By all accounts a stunning piece, and wonderfully unique, this Fu Dai is sure to make an inimitable addition to any pipe collection.