Studio Pottery Lidded Pot in Blue Drip Glaze

A good piece of studio pottery carries the hand of its maker, and this little lidded pot is full of it. Hand thrown in a warm red earthenware clay, it wears a glaze that runs from a deep glossy near black over the shoulders into streaks of soft cornflower blue, the two colours pooling and breaking against each other where the glaze has moved in the kiln. No two pieces finished this way come out quite the same, which is rather the point of buying handmade.

It measures 17cm at its widest and stands 14cm tall with the lid in place, a generous and satisfying size to hold. The lid has a neatly turned knob and sits well, and the unglazed base carries the potter's painted mark, that lovely little signal that a real person made this at a wheel rather than a factory.

Use it as a sculptural object on an open shelf, keep it by the kitchen for salt or loose leaf tea, or let it corral odds and ends on a desk or dressing table. The blue is rich enough to anchor a display and looks especially good against warm wood, brass or terracotta.

It is in lovely order, the gloss glaze bright and the lid a good fit, with only the small variations you would expect from something shaped by hand.

Blue is having a real moment in ceramics, and a lidded pot is more useful and more collectable than a plain vase, so this is one we expect to find a home quickly.