It's like a large, deep pot. Okay for oven use. Okay for direct heat. Can be used as a pot. Versatile for things like apple pie. It's old (no longer in production), but there are only four scratches as shown in photos 4 and 5. The other areas, like photos 6 and 7, are part of the original design. I brought it back from America myself, and I'm selling it because I'm leaving Japan in about two years.