Studio Pottery - Glaze test marks

Recently we have had a couple of studio pots in the ID My Pottery section with painted marks on them and, although the likes of Bernard Forrester marked his pots with a brown painted mark, almost all will be codes for glaze mixtures that the studio potter was trying out. That is they are glaze test pieces with the codes being known to the potter and for reference only and were not meant for sale. Therefore they do not have the potter's seal on them.

Below is one such example: -



Often these are dishes but sometimes they can be vase shapes, as it might be necessary to check whether the glaze mix will adhere to an upright surface.

........ and the other side to show you the glaze.



Apologies for it being a little dirty but it has been in my garden for several years and I only gave it a quick wash.

In this case I do know who the potter was, as it was given to me by Alan Wallwork.

Errrrrrrr so what was a piece of Wallwork doing in your garden?

It is usually filled with water and the cats and wildlife tend to drink out of it.

I did meet someone once who swopped a bowl with his aunt's cat when he noticed that the cat's bowl had the Leach Pottery seal and Hamada's seal on it. I saw the Hamada bowl and it's was quite pleasant but I'm sure the cat was equally pleased with the replacement.

He he, that southern micro-climate!
Seen so many Denby rabbits, that had been left outside as garden ornaments, where
the frosts had shaled off all the glaze, leaving a worthless biscuit rabbit carcass..

I found that interesting about the test piece marks , although it has to be said there are still quite a few who use painted a mark and no seal mark .

Denby Tigo ware "Hullam" (waves) glaze trial dish, painted marks.
More usually, Denby trials are marked in pencil on
an unglazed base, sometimes on the foot-rim.