Tea bowl with deer-skin pattern, Asahi ware

This tea bowl comes with the characteristic Asahi Ware kase (“deer’s back” — for the spots that resemble spots found on a deer’s back) pattern. The natural change in color is the result of firing clay prepared over a century ago in a climbing kiln. Among examples of this type of pottery, this tea bowl in particular is a piece with a sharp contrast between the beveled front on the outside and the soft look on the inside.