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From the hilltop town of Squillace, Calabria, where potters have worked the red earth for centuries, comes this handthrown sgraffito bowl by husband-and-wife artists Claudio and Beatrice of Il Tornio. Ivy leaves, curling stems, and tiny berries drift around the rim in loose, freehand lines, framed by a double ring around a soft cream center. Outside, the bowl is left in its natural terracotta, smooth and warm in the hand.

Squillace’s ceramics are protected by Italy’s C.A.T. designation, the ceramics equivalent of a wine’s DOC. Every piece is made in town, following traditional methods. Sgraffito technique involves shaping clay by hand, allowing it to dry, and then applying a thin white layer of clay on top (engobe). Artists then scrape off the white layer by hand with a tool (sgraffito) in intricate designs, revealing the contrasting color underneath. Upon firing, the incised design looks dramatic and beautiful against the reddish earthen clay color.

No two are perfectly alike.

• Bowl measures about 7.5″ in diameter x 2.5″ deep
• Hand wash
• Handmade; slight variations exist
• Imported from Calabria, Italy
• Stamp of origin on underside