Namiyosegama Keiko Bowl

Stoneware, dimensions: 16 x 5.5 cm

This bowl by Namiyosegama Keiko was fired in a traditional anagama wood kiln. Its wide-open, shallow form has a deliberately simple design and provides an ample surface for the natural traces of the wood firing.

The surface is dominated by dark gray and anthracite tones, accompanied at the rim by warm reddish-brown nuances. Particularly striking are the individual greenish ash traces on the interior. These were created by fly ash that settled on the surface during the firing and fused with the clay at high temperatures.

The contrast between the predominantly matte, dark surface and the locally glossy ash-deposit glazes gives the bowl its special character. Fire, ash, and the position in the anagama have thus created an individual pattern that cannot be exactly repeated in any other piece.