handmade raku bowl with snail in blue & black

A snail! This is the first thing that comes to mind when looking at this beautiful Raku bowl. The strong, bright blue and the organic black outside create an attractive contrast. As an eye-catcher this handmade bowl should not be missing on any table.

The large bowl was turned by hand at the potter's wheel. In a leather-hard state, the bottom was cleanly worked out and the bowl was finally modelled. In order to create a snail as symmetrical as possible on the inside, it was slowly applied by eye and then finished. The bowl was finished after the biscuit firing and then glazed by hand. Care was taken to ensure that only the inside of the bowl came into contact with the liquid glaze, as the outside was reserved for the raku.

Raku is an old Japanese firing technique and is firmly anchored in Japanese culture. In raku, the ceramics, which have a temperature of over 1000 degrees Celsius, are taken out of the kiln with heavy iron tongs and placed in beech wood shavings. These ignite instantly due to the immense heat and flames, soot and ashes colour the surfaces silky black. As the technique is quite complex and, on top of that, very dangerous, it is not very common in Europe - but this is no reason for its popularity to decline.

While the inside is lovingly decorated with a snail, the outside has been kept organically lively. Thus the shell is also haptically appealing and invites tactile discoveries. With its perfectly round shape and the bright blue it is a refined detail on the table!

The handmade bowl weighs about 440 g and has a diameter of about 18 cm at the opening. It is about 5 cm high. Since Raku was born out of fire, the ceramics initially smell a little bit of soot and smoke. The smell, however, disappears quite quickly, leaving behind an enchanting piece of craftsmanship!