Help ID Turquoise gold black ashtray Italy Dated and signed

Help ID Turquoise gold black ashtray Italy Dated and signed
any information about the process of making this piece would be appreciated
6" diameter
I can not make out what I believe to be the date?
I believe the first 2 number in the date is the year 47

This is a well-made item with a gold base, speckled with a bright blue color of turquoise and crackled black irregular lines

 

I've a feeling that's Bitossi. Paging @Walter Del Pellegrino

 

Thanks, Ownedbybear I've added a few more images at this forum maybe Walter can help, by, shedding a little light on that Bitossi feeling of yours. Lots of Bitossi on the internet and lots of pottery claiming to be Bitossi, it's tricky.
mervin

 

Here Bistossi a link to speckled or star dusting turquoise design on a pair of shakers Without the added crackling effect.
https://nvisionshop.com/?product=mid-century-modern-bitossi-italian-pottery-salt-pepper-shakers

 

The clue is the way that Italy is written, generally. It won't be a date, by the way.

 

It isn’t a Bitossi item and the numbers don’t represent a date. The second set of numbers after the “47” is a “51" and together the series of numbers would seem to have anything do with a date code. Are you sure this is a ceramic piece? I’ve seen this type of glaze used on smoked glass. Even the writing looks like it only lightly scratched the glaze rather than being incised into clay.

 

Thanks Walter, I will double check the material this evening when I go to the location of the bowl. That does make a lot of sense now that you have mentioned it.

 

Was able to get additional images. This ashtray when plucked sound a little like glass. After pulling back the felt backing, its pottery. With a key, I was easily able to carve a small groove into the bottom of the foot. To me, it has the sound when plucked of roofing tile terracotta or majolica, which is usually light. Is it getting its weight from the gold glaze?

 

Terracotta is not a lightweight clay as you suggest. Terracotta, in comparison to the industrial white clays used in mass production, is rough and more dense. It must be worked entirely by hand, as modern machines would be damaged by its demanding composition. This means that the terracotta must be hand worked into the molds and when the clay is dry it must be removed from the molds by hand. This process limits production to a fraction of that created by industrial clays using machinery.
Thus, pieces made with terra-cotta tend to be made by artists with limited capacity. That it what you have here. Most likely this was made in a small family-owned studio rather than an international factory like Bitossi.

 

Thanks for the correction and clarifications Walter. So this item's weight comes mostly from the denseness of the terracotta clays. a lot of work went into this item. Was the black applied then the gold and then the blue? How was the crackling effect produced. Thanks Again Walter

 

Thanks