Laura Kirar

With Glyph, internationally renowned designer Laura Kirar has reached a new  aesthetic summit. Inspired by, and incorporating, a written language of her own creation, this extraordinary table is composed not only of her new language’s constituent characters, but of unique ceramic pieces which fit together as perfectly as verses in a well written poem.

The craft and attention to detail necessary for its execution are no less impressive—they are, in fact, much of what gives this table its most alluring qualities. The 29 hand-carved ceramic pieces from which Glyph is composed are finished with the raku glaze technique, a multistep process dating from the 16th century Japan. First, the pieces are fired at an extremely high temperature (1100°C). Next, they are placed in an open-air container filled with combustible material, which endows the pieces with a great variety of color and surface effects. Finally, they are subjected to a harsh cooling process. The patterns and color of the table result from the amount of oxygen that is allowed to reach the pottery in this final step, and the process produces different results each time.