Product Number: 002-141-1097

I shared a picture of this pipe with someone I thought might find it interesting and his response was "I don't know if I would have the balls to smoke that in public".

And so there you have it. Despite the fact that this is not a new shape for Tokutomi (he's made but a handful in the span of his lengthy career as a pipe carver), his homage to the famous Jorn Micke form tends to be met with the same reaction as those few produced by the Danish master: a boyish smirk and a sharp, PG-13 wisecrack thick with innuendo. In fact, it's nearly a customary reaction. But you have to talk about its phallic attributes when discussing the piece because to gloss over the notion would be an exercise in deliberate obtuseness. It also misses the point. The point being that this pipe bears more than a passing resemblance to a pair of testicles and penis. Or maybe it's buttocks and penis. Either way we can't help but wonder and we can't help but talk about it, juvenile as it may seem.

It's easy to forget that aside from the overtly sexual tones associated with the pipe, there's a really splendid assemblage of lines, contours, colors, textures, and materials at hand here. From the shallow rings of grain shown off by Tokutomi's light sandblast, to the smooth wafers of ivory that bookend each side of the bamboo shank this is, when all's said and done, a beautiful, striking composition and an arresting nod to Jorn Micke.

-- Ted Swearingen