Smooth Acorn (Fukuda) (J) (132) (2014) Tobacco Pipe

While Fukuda's takes on English school classics are of course exquisite in their own right, it's the Tsuge Ikebana carver's more overtly Danish-inspired numbers that seem to catch my eye time and time again. This Acorn sees the carver taking things in a more streamlined direction, with a succinct forward posture to the bowl in profile, emphasized by a pronounced degree of flare and a sense of inflation about the rim. There's an unsuspectingly strong degree of vertical compression to the bowl that becomes apparent when viewed from the fore, and the crisp, Ivarsson-esque teardrop line becomes readily apparent just at the transition, serving to reinforce the implied forward momentum and offering a geometric shift into the more structured shaping at the shank. A gentle curve along the entirety of the shape's underside bolsters the entire composition, while also guiding the eye to the gently downturned saddle stem. Finished in a warm, stellar contrast, subtle strands of flame are brought to vibrant life on the left flank, while a marvelous, ultra-tight display of the stuff is elevated splendidly on the right, joined by vast pools of birdseye above and below. A truly excellent piece.