Kuro Raku Tea Bowl (Black Raku Chawan) — Hand-Formed with Spatula-Carved Facets, Wooden Box

This black Raku (Kuro Raku, 黒楽) matcha bowl was formed entirely by hand rather than thrown on the wheel. This technique, tezukune (手捏ね), is the defining method of Raku ware. The potter pinched and built up the clay, then shaved the walls with a spatula, leaving broad, softly angled facets (herame, 箆目) that catch the light across the surface. The rim undulates gently, and the profile is slightly irregular. That quiet asymmetry is valued in the tea ceremony as part of the wabi aesthetic, where a bowl should feel shaped by hand rather than made to be perfect.

Raku ware began in Kyoto in the late 16th century with the potter Chōjirō, who worked closely with the tea master Sen no Rikyū. Black Raku bowls in particular are closely tied to Rikyū's taste for restraint and simplicity. Raku bowls are fired at a relatively low temperature and pulled from the kiln while still glowing hot. The sudden cooling gives black Raku its deep, glossy glaze. Here the surface has a fine, pitted texture known as yuzu-hada (柚子肌, "citron skin"), which gives the black a lively, shifting sheen rather than a flat finish.

The bowl has straight, gently tapering walls and a slightly inward-turning rim, which helps hold the warmth and aroma of the tea. Inside, the potter's shaping marks spiral down into the well, forming a small hollow where the last of the tea gathers (chadamari, 茶溜まり). The low foot is carved by hand with a concentric inner ring, and it is glazed black like the rest of the bowl, as is typical of black Raku.

• Origin: Japan — Raku ware (Kuro Raku)

• Form: Hand-formed (tezukune) matcha bowl with spatula-carved facets (herame), undulating rim and slightly inturned lip

• Glaze: Glossy black Raku glaze with yuzu-hada (citron-skin) texture

• Interior: Spiralling shaping marks with a tea pool (chadamari) in the well

• Base: Hand-carved foot with concentric inner ring, glazed black

• Box: Paulownia wood box with green cord and printed explanatory card

• Condition: Good vintage/secondhand condition. Pinholes and a small glaze blister near the foot are firing characteristics of Raku. Please see photos for any wear.

• Dimensions: (D) approx. 11.5 cm x (H) approx. 9 cm