Smooth Acorn (Fukuda) (O) (221) (2015) Tobacco Pipe

In the 1970s, Kazuhiro Fukuda was among the artisans sent abroad by the Tsuge Pipe Company to expand his shaping and execution skills by studying with Danish carvers Sixten Ivarsson and Jørgen Larsen, after which he became supervisor of the Ikebana workshop, dedicated to hand-carved, creative interpretations. Ikebana means "living flowers," referring to Japan's highest form of flower arrangement, an art meant to enhance one's appreciation for the natural world.

This Acorn perfectly reflects that philosophy, its natural curves and Acorn-like shaping enhanced by a light stain that highlights the exemplary quality of the grain cascading down its flanks. The heel is softly curved and extends below the transition, and expands as it rises upward before tapering to the rounded rim, all while maintaining the bowl's shape with precise cheeking at the transition.

The shank emerges from the bowl and expands as it curves upward to meet the abbreviated, saddle mouthpiece and echoes the taper of the bowl itself. The rim is chamfered around the tobacco chamber, and the convenient size and winsome grace of the piece ensures a lasting relationship as it efficiently transforms tobacco into smoke.