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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Iconodule, post: 11533933, member: 91417&quot;]From the thickness of the clay, your owls probably are handbuilt by an individual craftworker, not a factory.&nbsp; A molded figurine in mass-production would be slip-cast. (Too much waste of material to use clay in a press-mold, as with late medieval clay sculpture.) Are the owls and base separate pieces?&nbsp; From what I can see, it looks like the owls were modelled separately as two pieces and then placed on the third piece (the base) while still wet (greenware), scored with slip or extra water for adhesion.&nbsp; Holes would be arved out between the hollow figures and the base to release gases--otherwise the piece would blow up. Then comes the bisque or biscuit firing.&nbsp; After that, glaze would be applied and the piece refired.</p><p><br /></p><p>I said low-fire terracotta before, but there are higher-fired stoneware clays with iron in them that have the same reddish hue. The matte, variegated glaze reminds me of higher-fired glazes in a gas or even wood-fired reduction kiln. The glaze was probably mixed from minerals by the artisan.&nbsp; Stoneware temperatures usually are cone 4-7: 2100–2280°F (1150–1250°C).&nbsp; Or, depending on the clay &amp; kiln, even higher (although I usually think of that as porcelain range).&nbsp; <b>Stoneware is usually vitreous, so you can see</b> <b>if water soaks in (earthenware terracotta low-fire) or is repelled (fired at stoneware or porcelain temperatures)</b>. (You can fire stoneware clay at earthenware temperatures--just a bisque firing--when making sculpture, but not for mugs, plates, etc. that must be vitrified.) But I suspect the glaze on your owls was fired at stoneware temperatures--necessitating stoneware clay. Let us know if the clay soaks or repels water (to see if I am correct or not.)</p><p>You mention hollowed-out eyes. Is there any glue residue that would indicate that separate eyes (maybe glass) had been glued in them?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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