First of all - I would like to thank members of the New Zealand Studio Pottery Group for their assistance in identifying and cataloguing this interesting piece of Antipodean studio pottery.
I am not sure how it arrived in Scotland from New Zealand.
The pot was made by Steve James of Ashburton in New Zealand. It is probably an experimental piece by him and is not typical of his work - but it is certainly stamped towards the foot of the pot with his cross and dots - ankh cypher. This piece was pit-fired so there is no glaze on it. The piece is painstakingly burnished to a sheen when the clay is leather hard and during the pit firing it is the addition of the wood, sawdust, smoke and sometimes a few copper oxides (there is a nice pink and dark rose colouring to one side of the pot) which colour the naked clay. A wonderful process with such lovely results.
My fine pot is very Japanese in style and excellent vintage condition. I love all the beautiful subtle shades which have occurred naturally in the firing. The pot shape and texture are very tactile - it is a lovely pot, probably dating to around the 1970s / early 1980s.
I have owned it for many years without even knowing of its New Zealand origin. Discussing things with experts on social media - is certainly a wonderful thing.
Dimensions: the height is roughly 5 1/2 inches and the diameter at the widest is just over 6 inches.
I will send it to you in the UK with Royal Mail Recorded (medium-size parcel). This will cost £6.95 and applied to your order at the checkout.