Hand-Painted Ceramic Bowl from Safi, Morocco 15cm

Turn the bowl and follow the band around the outside. The zigzags rise and fall, the dot clusters fill the triangles, and somewhere on the circuit the spacing tightens slightly where the painter's brush met the line he started with. That's the tell. It's painted freehand with a brush, no stencil and no transfer, which is why the pattern closes the loop in a slightly different place on every piece. Inside the base there's an eight-petal flower you only see once the bowl is empty. It sits low and wide 15 centimetres across, 7 deep which is the size that works for one large salad, a shared bowl of olives, or fruit left out on the counter. The glaze is cool and glassy under your palm. The unglazed foot ring is not: it's raw clay, slightly rough, the way it came off the wheel.

What Makes It

• Painted freehand, not stencilled the brush lines vary in thickness where the loaded brush ran dry, and the pattern meets itself at a different point on every bowl.
• Painted before firing, not on top of the glaze the terracotta pigment goes under, then the glaze goes over. It cannot scratch off, fade in a dishwasher, or wear through with use.
• Flower in the base an eight-petal rosette, painted last. It's the reward for finishing the bowl.
• Wide and shallow 15 × 7 cm. Big enough to serve from, small enough to eat from. Two of them stack.
• Food safe safe for daily use with food. Wash by hand to protect the painted band.

The Craft

Safi is Morocco's ceramics city the kilns sit on the hill above the port and the trade has been organised there for centuries. The bowl is thrown, dried, fired once, then handed to a painter. The painting is the specialisation, and it's separate from the throwing: the painter works from memory with a fine brush, holding the bowl in one hand and turning it as he goes, laying down a band that has to close cleanly by the time it comes back around. There's no pencil line underneath. What he's drawing is the same vocabulary painted in Safi for generations, and learning to lay it down at speed without hesitation is the skill you're paying for.

Details

• Material: Glazed ceramic, hand-painted
• Dimensions: 15 cm diameter × 7 cm high / 5.9 × 2.75 in
• Capacity: . 750 ml?
• Technique: Wheel-thrown, hand-painted underglaze
• Origin: Safi, Morocco
• Food safe: Yes
• Dishwasher : yes

Care

Hand wash in warm water with a soft cloth. No abrasive pad on the painted band. Avoid sudden temperature change don't move it from fridge to hot oven. Dry the unglazed foot fully before stacking.

What's Included

• One hand-painted ceramic bowl
• Origin Passport card with QR code the potter's name, his workshop in Safi, and photographs of the bowl being painted
• Wrapped, boxed, DHL /FEDEX/ARAMEX/UPS, tracked to your door