Light and darkness inspire Claire de Lavallée, a French potter who originally trained as a sculptor. She uses high-temperature glazes on her pieces, and even her darkest glaze—like the Temmoku on this oversized stoneware platter—is shot with strands of red and gold. The small Japanese stoneware rice bowl also owes its beauty to inky glazes (platter, $295; bowl, $45; Takashimaya; 212-350-0100).