Yang Kun: Sandblasted Bent Pot with Boxwood (Four Footprints) (2292) Tobacco Pipe

Originally a makeup artist for television and film, Yang Kun has applied his aesthetic sensibilities to pipe making since 2012. Over the last decade, Kun has shown impressive talent, drawing on the work of Danish masters as well as his Chinese contemporaries to create a unique style that blends striking features of both, particularly in his use of bamboo and sleek ridgelines.

This unique rendition of the bent Pot showcases Kun's facility with sturdy, organic shaping, and features a hearty bowl with curvaceous walls that taper down to a rounded, supple heel. The broad rim undulates fluidly atop the bowl, creating a dynamic silhouette, while the pinched transition to a flared round shank creates a deft balance between the bowl and broad boxwood accent at the shank's junction to a comfortably bent green vulcanite saddle stem. Dressed in a crisp natural sandblast, the stummel boasts excellent ring grain all around the bowl.