Ulkā - Pedestal Decor Bowl

They called it Ulkā (उल्का), meteor in Sanskrit, because that's what it looks like. A ceramic pedestal bowl from Pondicherry, gas-fired at 1160°C. You'd walk past it and think stone, not clay.

The making

The bowl and its pedestal are two separate pieces, Meena joins them on the wheel while the clay is still damp enough to fuse. The craters are carved one at a time, each one scooped out in curls of clay. In the kiln, the iron glaze melts and flows into each hollow, settling darker in the craters, thinner where the clay rises.

What does it feel like to hold?

It's heavy. The matte surface is smooth under your palm, until your fingers find the craters. Then it's all texture. It feels like a piece that belongs behind glass, except you're putting fruit in it on a Tuesday morning.

Why this belongs in your space

• That table or console at your entryway you keep clearing and re-styling. Put this on it.
• Holds fruit, dried stems, or nothing. It looks deliberate either way.
• The metallic surface shifts with the light. Darker by lamp. Almost bronze near a window.