Partially Sandblasted Freehand Sitter Tobacco Pipe

Despite his inclination toward the Danish school of pipemaking, Li Zhesong has displayed a continued appreciation for Japanese carvers as well, and specifically the aesthetic of Tokutomi. This sitter, then, could be seen as Toku-inspired, it displaying a thematic element seen time and time again in his work: a crisp taper and languid sense of bend, terminating at a precise foundation, seen in the likes of his Vase shape. Li has taken a more defined and organically evocative route, lending the broadly-flaring Dublin bowl a partial plateau crown, surrounded by an excellent display of contrast-stained birdseye, juxtaposed with a perfect arrangement of ring-grain cascading down the bowl. From the neatly-tucked transition extends a rightward-rolling shank, offering a subtle, neat asymmetry. A brass ring both reinforces and decorates the mortise, securing a gorgeous, hand-turned saddle-stem, its base echoing the asymmetric shank.

- Daniel Bumgardner