This beautiful piece of wood started life as a growth on the side of a tree.  I'm not sure we know 100% why these grow.  Some say they can grow as a reaction of the tree to disease or damage.  I've seen them  in my suburb towards the base of some trees that I know get whipper-snipped regularly by the council.

It's called a burl.  This one probably comes from somewhere near the Murray River.

It was harvested, had the bark stripped by high pressure hose, cleaned up, carved and polished.  I took a photo of it as a work in progress a few weeks ago.

Magical light this afternoon as the sun peaked through retreating rain clouds.

Extra: a close up of the upturned bowl.