Pebbled Surface. A background texture of raised dots or tiny hemispheres, each of which is called a BOSS. This form of texture can be made by modeling or by the use of the dapple tool in the negative model or in the die, or by a puncheon with an incuse cupped hemisphere. The Japanese developed this surface to a high degree for tsubas, they called this texture "fish roe surface" (nanako), where the bosses were as small as one-hundredth of an inch diameter. A pebbled surface is the opposite of dappled surface (where the dots are sunken indentations). See dapple tool, dapple surface.