This is an attractive decorative Valley Oak Natural Edge bowl with the bark still attached. This bowl has a stress crack that occurred during drying. The crack has been permanently filled with epoxy and gold glitter, however, it detracts from the beauty of the bowl. A satin polyurethane finish was used to help protect the wood's character. This is a decorative bowl and should be handled with care not to break off the bark. It may be wiped clean with a slightly damp cloth. I harvested the wood from a Valley Oak tree that came down on September 2009 in Lafayette, California. The homeowner gave the tree to a sawyer for lumber. Smaller limbs were saved for bowls.