Posted 4 years ago
kwqd
(1189 items)
This little cast iron serving pot is 3.75" in diameter x 1.75" high minus handle x 4.5" high with handle. It weighs 14.7 ounces and has no maker's mark. It was among a group of other Japanese cast iron items.
Not sure of the use, age or what the correct Japanese term for this little pot is. I have seen one other example and I don't think it was as rough as this one is. Not sure if the roughness is because it was green sand cast, it was purposely made this way or if it is severely degraded by rusting. I spent quite awhile with a stiff nylon bristle brush removing a lot of loose rust, but there is still a lot of rust on this little pot. At this point, I am leaning toward the conclusion that it was purposely made with a rough surface, but my research is just beginning. The vegetable theme suggests that is meant to be used to steam or bake some sort of traditional vegetable dish. A guess.
It was very inexpensive, as opposed to the first example I encountered which the seller wanted a stupid amount of money for, tiny and easy to store, so a good research opportunity. I probably will never know the maker but hope to discover its Japanese name and intended use.
That’s just precious!
Thanks for your comment Watchsearcher! It does have a certain level of cuteness.
Thanks for loving my little veggie pot dav2no1, aura, Jenni, Kevin, Watchsearcher and jscott0363!
Thanks for loving my little cast iron veggie pot Eclector, Thomas, Alfie21, RichmondLori, CindIndianapolis and fortapache!
Better images!!
Thanks blunderbuss2!
Thank you Manikin!
Thanks, Eileen! Japanese cast iron is very difficult due to its unique finish.
Thanks SEAN68!
Thanks PhilDMorris!
I had a little cast iron pot like this - including the pierced lid - but can't find it now, so I think I may have donated it in a fit of tidying. Never did find out what it's meant for. It looks a lot like a nabe pot (for nabemono, simmered foods), which is basically a "hot pot" although normally the wooden lid of a nabe pot is unpierced. Anyway, I really love yours with its lid design of an eggplant and a daikon or turnip? at a guess? -- it's super appealing. I suppose in a pinch you could fill it with ash and use it as an incense burner!
Thanks for your comment rhineisfine! Yeah, this one is a real head scratcher. I wish that I had paid more attention the first time that I ran across one of these.
Or maybe a turnip or some other root vegetable native to Japan....