Handmade Raku Tea Bowl 'Crane Luck'

In Japan, the Crane Luck is a symbol of good luck and longevity. It is therefore not surprising that it is still customary in Japanese weddings to present a folded paper crane. Here in Europe, too, the crane is a much-loved bird and we at Keramik-Kartell have paid homage to it with the "Crane Luck" series of Raku tea bowls.

The tea bowls in the series were hand-turned on the potter's wheel and at this point attention was already paid to the golden section - after all, symmetry is everything in pottery! Already at this point, the work was very filigree in order to give the tea bowls their elegance later on. Then a wobble-free foot was carved out of the bottom of each tea bowl and the tea bowls were bisque-fired.

In addition to the choice of colour, it was also important to us to bring out the lightness, elegance and, above all, the uniqueness of these noble creatures. These characteristics can be conveyed on the one hand through the feel of the tea bowl, and on the other hand through its appearance. As with the birds of happiness, we have chosen white, black and red. The white feathers are the trick! They were applied individually with brush strokes and gave the tea bowl the lightness of flight. Because of this, all the tea bowls in the "Crane Luck" series are slightly different and have their own characteristics. The haptic and optical journey of discovery begins with a cup of tea!

The manufacturing process was carried out with the Raku technique, because the black of the Raku also shimmers as silky as the feathers! This old Japanese firing technique is quite unknown in Germany, because it is quite elaborate and not without danger. In raku, the ceramics, which are heated to approx. 1000 °C, are taken out of the kiln, yellow-hot, with long iron tongs fitted with teeth and placed in beechwood chips. Due to the immense temperatures, the chips ignite instantly and the magic takes its course. In Japanese Buddhism, everything has its justification - including chance, which now shapes each tea bowl differently. Fire, soot and ash, controlled by chance, work on the surface of the tea bowl and colour it in the unique silky matt black.

Due to the raku technique, the handmade tea bowl is not yet 100% waterproof. Due to the suspended matter contained in the tea, the few still open channels sinter and quickly seal the tea bowl. Despite the most careful cleaning, the smell of soot and fire has not yet completely disappeared.

A tea bowl from the "Crane Luck" series weighs approx. 170 g and the filling volume is approx. 180 mL. It is about 6 cm high and has a diameter of about 8 cm at the top.