Raku hot Pet Urn

When my parents sold their home, my brother and I went through hot all our stuff in the attic. He decided to give up the rock collection that had been so precious to him growing up. I saw this beautiful piece of sandstone and created a raku box as a final resting place for a beloved pet using the sandstone as a finial.


Raku is an ancient technique of firing clay, the roots of which go back to 16th century Japan. Unlike other glaze firings where the kiln is slowly brought up to temperature and then allowed to cool slowly, raku is fired very quickly, from room temperature to 1750 and back in about an hour. When the kiln has reached the correct temperature, it is opened, the red-hot pieces are removed with long tongs, placed in a pit lined with sawdust, then covered with a metal container lined with straw or newspaper. The combustibles use up the oxygen in the container, producing beautiful metallic colors.The unglazed areas absorb carbon from the burning organic matter and turn black. If the metal container is lifted at the correct moment during cooling, oxygen is introduced to the environment and the glaze cools at a more rapid rate then the clay, creating a beautiful crackle pattern without the lustre. The crackle shows up well as the cracks absorb the carbon and turn black.

Approximately 8” tall

This urn will hold a minimum of 14.45 cubic inches. It is always recommended that one use a product such as epoxy or super glue to seal the urn once the ashes are in place.