Shigaraki Ash Glaze: Notes from the Kiln Surface

Shigaraki ware is often recognised by its earthiness: a clay body that carries iron, a surface that refuses complete uniformity, and glazes that look changed by heat rather than applied as colour alone.

What ash glaze leaves behind

Ash glaze can settle, pool, and thin across a form. On a pedestal bowl, those shifts become visible at the rim and foot, where the geometry of the vessel changes how the kiln's heat moves around it.

Surface as a record

Speckles, pinholes, and small changes in tone are not defects when they come from the firing process. They make each bowl a particular object rather than a repeat of the same image.

Using a raised bowl

A pedestal gives fruit, sweets, or a small serving a little distance from the table. It can also stand empty as a useful pause on a shelf.

View the Shigaraki Ash-Glazed Pedestal Bowl in our Tableware collection.