I happened upon this carved Go bowl today at http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1299849 ... until-some. I seriously am jonesing for this!

Warning: Very large image ahead, which shows some remarkable detail.

Hi Aidoneus,

Hi Ed,

I only play with a Staunton-design chess set, but I can appreciate collectable chess sets for display. Similarly, I think the carved bowl that I posted a picture of is a bit ornate for every day use. My Go bowls are much simpler (and I am definitely not a photographer!).

My ebony and rosewood chess set knights (I've had this set for about 40 years, so I am no longer sure about the wood for the White pieces!):


One of my Go bowls:

I'd prefer lusting after the bowls in Kurokigoishi's Gallery of Wonderful Goods as well as some other ones I have happened upon and documented elsewhere.

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A blog on Asian go books, go sightings, and interesting tidbits
Go is such a beautiful game.

I've always had a soft spot for these old fashioned bowls:

Wow, never seen this shape before: almost isometric.
Conic frustum on top of a cylinder!

I've run across them a few times when browsing Japanese auction sites -- seems they're pretty old fashioned, and on the not-fancy side of things.

When the lid is flipped over it has a semi-spherical concavity that contrasts nicely with the other side. (Ed, did you already know the word frustrum? That's a great one.)

Hi,

I've got Sakura go bowls similar to those posted by Ed and slate and shell go stones from Kuroki goishi ten.

According to Kuroki's brochure on go stone care, you must not store shell stones in wooden bowls once they might become stained. Thus, if I know that I'm not going to use my go board for more than a week or so, I always store the stones in cloth bags.

Is this really necessary? Does anyone have experience with shell stones + sakura? I've read that chestnut bowls are likely to stain shell stones, but I haven't read anything about sakura...

Hi Tomoe,

Could you post that portion of the brochure ?
I also have Kuroki stones and bowls, with all the original brochures,
but I've never heard of that. It seems strange...

Hi Ed,

what I wrote was from memory, so it isn't that precise actually.


On the second last page of the brochure it says:



Admittedly, I forgot or overlooked that he was referring to new bowls...


So do you store your stones in bowls permanently without any problems?

Right -- I have both the Kuroki Karin bowls, and much lower quality wooden bowls. The Kuroki Karin bowls are of very high quality;
I cannot imagine any staining -- it's like if you were to spend US$ thousands
on a high quality bed frame, and worry about staining;
or any high quality wooden furniture -- say, a dining table and chairs set --
and worry about staining -- it's unimaginable to me.

I'd say only if the bowls are of bad quality
with a very bad finish -- then there's a chance.

I've kept my stones in these bowls for 8 to over 10 years,
I use them regularly -- no problem.
I also keep a soft cushion at the bottom of each bowl
to dampen the hard collisions. Any art store or craft store
should carry some very basic, inexpensive felt paper,
or thin foamy paper -- easy to cut into round-ish shapes,
like coasters, to protect both the bowls and the stones.

I have heard of staining being a problem specifically with bowl of kaya or another more resinous wood, rather than wood bowls in general. Perhaps that's what the brochure was referring to?

Thanks a lot From now on I'll keep my stones in the bowls without concern.



That seems plausible! Sakura, however, is a very hard and non-resinous wood without any noticeable smell, unlike kaya.

Ran into these interesting bowls while idly browsing an auction site (terrible habit):





I like the un-turned exterior.