Where to look at quality pots for inspiration and find dimensions?

[Thundie]

No there is no 'central' place to get bonsai pots. Matt Ouwinga (who is the seller I linked to) is one of the best in the U.S. EVERYTHING from his site is excellent. He sources from bonsai nurseries in Japan, where he spent some time. There are literally thousands of places to get good bonsai pots, some better than others. Good ones can turn up anywhere including yard sales and estate sales etc. You simply have to keep you eye out or talk with bonsai folks about where to get them, or get to a bonsai show and find vendors.

A general 'need to know' rickety hardly thorough tutorial on bonsai pots :

The ID is typically a 'chop mark' on the stamped in the clay of the bottom of the pot before it is fired. IDing those marks is something of an art (and there are sites and pages devoted to it--although sellers frequently provide that info in their sales description) By and large any Japanese pot with such a mark is higher quality--Generally Japanese pots come from traditional kilns in different regions of the country. Tokoname is one of the most famous towns traditionally known for its ceramic kilns, as are Shigaraki, Bizen and others. Famous potters traditionally reside in those kiln towns, or make them their headquarters. The regions and towns with kilns have become notable for centuries because they're located near clay deposits. Bonsai pot making in Japan, unfortunately, is dying out as a trade, so new pots can be hard to come by. The market for older and antique pots is increasingly in Western countries . For the most part mass produced ceramic bonsai pots are unmarked (although some are). Some mass produced pots are great, some are not. Most of the inferior pots come out of S.E. Asia and China. Those usually accompany bonsai you buy in big box stores (Home Depot, WalMart, etc--although sometimes not).

There are also excellent Chinese pots coming from China, usually from Yixing province.

Unfortunately I'm in a Nordic nation, in a very small town with no shows, clubs and so on around me. The US bonsai scene seems incredible with how close and connected people are. Very envious.

Thank you for the explanation and links! They were extremely helpful!

 

[Thundie]

@Thundie read this entire thread. Pot School

Will do!

 

[FreshAirSunshine]

“Nel son” on the FB auctions tends to have good pots. It’s also worth following him because he tends to post things on his FB first, then they make it to the auctions after followers go through them. Two Shuho pots I have from him:

 

[milehigh_7]

Agreed. I bought two of Paul's pots after reading that "just because".

My Paul pot is my absolute favorite. He was a great man and a good friend.

 

[RJG2]

My Paul pot is my absolute favorite. He was a great man and a good friend.

Wish I had been here while he was still with us.

Just remembered, I actually have 3.

This small one is going to remain empty until something actually "sexy" presents itself

 

[rockm]

Unfortunately I'm in a Nordic nation, in a very small town with no shows, clubs and so on around me. The US bonsai scene seems incredible with how close and connected people are. Very envious.

Thank you for the explanation and links! They were extremely helpful!

The U.S. is very large and we're not really interconnected. You just have to know where to look. The E.U. has more bonsai importers than the U.S. They sell cross-border too. Look around. I found this thread There are more. For western made bonsai potters in the E.U. and the U.K. you can look here. You can get bonsai pots from any where on earth. I've bought on consignment from potters in Austria and the U.K. Not all that hard to do.