Joe Barry reminded me that the Japanese tea bowl is an example of the belief that an object could be invested with the perceivable energy and spirit of its maker.

The value was perceived to be in the pure spirit of the skilled craftsman's hands in forming the bowl. Many mistake it for a fascination for crude workmanship and it is anything but! Any apparent crudity is as a result of the fortuitous accidents of the firing process. What they found pleasure in was the uniqueness of the natural process and not the flawless anonymity of the mass produced item. The most most valued items would have been culls in a factory kiln operation.

The tea bowls shown in the photos above are from eBay and made for western consumption.