Xu Hai: Smooth Bent Apple (0817) Tobacco Pipe

It's often in the most minimalist compositions where the greatest detail shows. Xu Hai has proven this ideal quite beautifully here in this bent Apple shape, presenting the plump, stout-walled form in a simple combination of warm contrast stain for the briar and jet-black vulcanite for the mouthpiece — sans any sort of flashy accents or adornments. The simplicity of the presentation, of course, shifts more visual weight to the form itself, underlining each soft, supple curve and seamless line as both a standalone feature and an integral part of the composition at large. What's more, both the finish and the muscular shape itself offer an inviting sense of comfort — its soft contours fitting naturally in hand, its sheer warmth practically begging the smoker to enjoy a bowl of their favored blend. Beautiful work from Xu Hai, here.

- Andrew Wike