Pot decorated with monkeys

I bought this pot several years ago from a charity shop, it isn't marked. I brought it to my local auction for a valuation about twelve months later and at first they seemed very interested, but cooled very quickly and said its purely decorative. I got the impression they thought I was trying to decieve them, but I still have no idea if this item is pretending to be something it isn't i.e a forgery/copy. Does anyone have any opinions about it ? I also have a really nice blue and white vase which got a similar reaction.

i think i'm inclined to go with the auction house on this one - whilst it's an interesting shape and decoration, it looks more like a modern pastiche of older influences than a genuinely old piece. But that's only my opinion. The crazed glazing may give a better indication - if it's really uniform (particularly in the colour of the crazing), it's more likely to be modern. If the crazing is more obvious in one area more than another and not very even in tone, this might suggest that it's a genuine occurence of age related staining.

Thanks Bistoboy, there isn't any crazing in the glaze at all, so I suppose it's as you say, a copy of an older style with not much age at all. At least I know now. (well, on balance). Thanks again.

Take another look heygarth, I'm sure it has has a fair bit of crazing :)

Looks like a nice item, but I also think it is trying to be much older than it actually is, has a little age to it tho and looks to be hand painted, quite a nice decorative item at least.