Hand-Painted Bowl Set of 7 from Safi, Wall or Table

Turn one over and there's a hole drilled through the foot. That's the decision that makes this set different from every other bowl set: Lmahjoub puts it there so the piece can leave the cupboard. Serve olives in them on Friday, hang all seven on a wall on Saturday. The pattern is built for both it radiates from a single point at the centre and opens into petals that fill the whole interior, so the design reads correctly from directly above and from straight on. Painted freehand in a fine line, dark on cream. The large bowl is 25 centimetres across and 10 deep, the six small ones 12 across and 5 deep, all of them footed and rimmed with a run of short dashes that closes where it started.

What Makes It

• A hanging hole in every bowl drilled at the foot, invisible from the front. Seven bowls on a wall in a cluster, or on the table with dinner in them.
• Pattern drawn from the centre out the petals divide from a single point, which is why the design resolves whether you're looking down into the bowl or at it hanging flat.
• Painted freehand by one hand line the six small bowls up and the petals don't land in the same place. The dot fields drift, the dashes at the rim vary in spacing.
• One large, six small 25 cm for serving at the centre, 12 cm each for olives, nuts, dips, or individual portions.
• Lead-free and food safe safe for daily use with food, not just for display.

The Craft

Safi is Morocco's ceramics city, its kilns on the hill above the port. Lmahjoub throws all seven pieces, trims the feet, and drills the hanging hole while the clay is still soft enough to take it without cracking. Painting comes after the first firing and it's the part with no undo. He works freehand with a fine brush, holding the bowl and turning it, dividing the interior into petals by eye and on a radial pattern an error at the centre multiplies by the time it reaches the rim. Six matching small bowls means doing it six times and having them read as a set at the end.

Details

• Set contents: 1 large bowl, 6 small bowls
• Large bowl: 25 × 25 cm, 10 cm high / 9.8 × 9.8 × 3.9 in
• Small bowls: 12 × 12 cm, 5 cm high / 4.7 × 4.7 × 2 in
• Material: Hand-thrown ceramic, hand-painted
• Colour: black on white
• Technique: Wheel-thrown, hand-painted, drilled for hanging
• Origin: Safi, Morocco
• Artisan: Lmahjoub
• Food safe: Yes lead-free glaze

Care

Hand wash with warm water and mild soap. No abrasive pad on the painted surface. Not for oven, stovetop, or open flame. Avoid sudden temperature change. Dry the foot fully before stacking or hanging.

What's Included

• One 25 cm bowl and six 12 cm bowls, each drilled for hanging
• Origin Passport card with QR code Lmahjoub's name, the GPS coordinates of his workshop in Safi, and photographs of the set being painted
• Each bowl wrapped individually, boxed, DHL/ARAMEX/FEDEX/UPS, tracked to your door