Saki anyone? inscribed sig, PL mark?

Intriguing shape.

Looks like a student piece

Thanks Naomi. My photos definitely are not the most complimentary of it. I have just started picking up odd pots and need to get more experience in understanding techniques to help me assess the quality of the work. As someone that has stayed in the factory world where finish is easy to see. The world of Wonky pots and artistic freedom to create what they feel is a bit daunting when trying to gauge quality.

But a Pot made by a Professional studio potter should never ever be wonky! Because every 'wonky' pot is either useless or sold as a seconds. Which means less money for them. if literally you are buying wonky pots, then you are simply wasting your money. No matter how cheap they may be.

When I pick up a pot I check several things:
Is it pinchpot, slab built, slip moulded or thrown - students often start with a pinch pot.  
The balance and base finish - is it bottom heavy and are there drying or firing cracks?
The glaze - is it uneven, pitted or bubbly?
The mark - does it look professional or student? Convention in the UK is to use a stamp, although a large minority sign or otherwise mark their pots.
No one thing determines whether it's a professional piece, hobby potter or student, but three or more things can point to the probability that it's a student piece. A couple of things and it may be a hobby potter - some are highly professional but don't have to make a living from it so don't have the wealth of throwing and firing experience that a professional has, and play safe with their glaze choices. But it's a sliding scale between them all, and there are a lot of inexperienced professional potters out there too.
A lot of professional potters make wonderfully wonky pots - just look at Peter Smith

I have a couple of Peter Smith. Idiosyncratic they might well be. Poorly made they are not!

What about Charles Bound, or Simon Carroll then. You'd need to be told they’re professional potters if you're not an experienced collector