Hand-Thrown Iwami-Style Grinding Bowl

An unglazed Iwami-style mortar, hand-thrown for us in iron-rich stoneware by Symy Ong, a mile or so from the Objects of Use store.  The grinding bowl has ridges cut into the interior surface whilst still soft, which once fired create hard ridges, providing the perfect surface for milling spices and dried herbs, or preparing dressing and sauces. Comes with a Japanese-made surikogi pestle, hand-hewn from sections of sustainably harvested wood. Trained at Clay College, Stoke-On-Trent, Ong then undertook an apprenticeship at Mitoh Gama (Kiln) in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture. Ong recently set up studio in Oxford, making gas-fired stoneware. With a base diameter of 8cm, a top diameter of 15cm and a height of 10cm.