These Iga-yaki doanbe, made by Nagatani-en, are made from special Iga clay from the region. Iga clay is naturally extremely porous and therefore known for its remarkable heat retention ability and durability. Because of the porous clay, the surface of the donabe generally looks rough. Especially in the bottom part, which is shaved by hand to even increase its surface area for the heat, you find many tiny rough dents/ holes which could look like cracks sometimes.Each Iga-yaki donabe, made by Nagatani-en, is hand-crafted by skilled craftsmen and it takes about 2 weeks to produce it. Glaze is applied by hand and handles are attached by hand also. The shape, color, patterns are slightly different from one another and could look uneven or unfinished with tiny bumps and holes, if your eyes are not very familiar with Japanese artisan pottery. This so called "uneven" or "unfinished" character is only achieved as a result of the special clay and the work skilled artisans. And, that's exactly the beauty of Iga-yaki's wabi sabi and have been appreciated by Japanese people for centuries. That's the sign of artisan product. Also, each piece of Nagatani-en's donabe and Iga-yaki products go through multiple strict inspections at the property before they release it to the market, so the quality is assured. After Nagatani-en's products arrive in our shop from Iga, Japan, we also inspect each piece here at TOIRO before we offer to our customers.If what you look for is "uniformity" or smooth surface pottery, we would suggest you search for machine made inexpensive kinds. Iga-yaki pottery is made for those who appreciate the wabi sabi beauty and its functions.