2.5 Inch Deep Suzuki Suzan Oval Bonsai Pot #241 – Hand Placed Rivets, Unglazed, Chop Mark

Hand-placed rivets, which alongside the bamboo band is the detail Suzuki Suzan is best known for. Each one was set individually rather than moulded in, and on an oval they have to follow a curve, so a run that stays even all the way round is harder to bring off than the same run on a straight wall. The form is bold and the surface left smooth, so the rivets are the only thing on the pot asking for attention.

Suzan worked in a clay body he developed himself, imported and refined over years, chasing strength without the weight that usually comes with it. His pots feel lighter than they look, and almost all of his output is unglazed for the same reason: the clay was the point. Every piece was made to order rather than produced in runs, which is why they are genuinely scarce now. The chop is on the base.

At 2.5 inches deep this is a shallow oval. That depth is for a root system already developed and no longer needing volume, for a forest or group planting, or for a wide deciduous tree where the pot should read as a plane under the canopy. A pot this shallow also dries faster than a deeper one, which is worth knowing before you plant into it.