My object is in the Ackland’s main exhibit space. It is a small, narrow-neck vessel with a handle made from clay.
I chose this object because it has four small cylinder shapes that the vessel sits on, and a long neck that extends into a hallow cylindrical snout, with eyes and a head plume. I find that the overall affect of the pot is rather humorous: its robust, squat body is held up by tiny nub-like legs, and what the artist presumably intended as a face has an endearing simplicity, all these features being suggestive rather than exact. 
The vessel is made from a red-orange clay. There are now smudges and splotches of material that are darker brown or red. This could be evidence of previous coats of paint or glaze that have worn off, or of different chemicals or earth interacting with the vessel. The outside of the vessel is relatively smooth, but the mouth of the vessel has thin rings around its opening. These rings, along with the vessel’s symmetry (apart of the animal features, which I will discuss later), suggest that the vessel was thrown on a wheel.
The artists would have added the neck and handle after the pot had been thrown, explaining the difference of texture between the outside and inside of the pot. To achieve the smooth continuity of the outside texture, the vessel, once thrown, would have needed to dry for an extended period of time before the animal features were added. If the vessel had been too wet and fragile, the artists could not have added the four legs, handle, and neck without damaging the symmetrical shape of the vessel or created such a continuous finish on the outside.
Because of the placement of the vessel, I could not see inside the vessel. It is my guess that, since the neck of the creature is directly opposite the handle, and that its mouth appears to be hallow, that there is an opening all the way through to the main body of the vessel, function as something like a teapot or a vessel used for containing and pouring liquid. Because there is a significant amount of clay used to make the neck, the vessel would be weighted disproportionately, making a tipping motion natural to allow liquid to pour from the animal’s mouth. The thicker handle also would compensate for the added weight of liquid inside the body. The handle of the vessel is not large enough to allow the pourer to use two hands. The wide mouth on top of the vessel would allow for liquids to be poured into the main body of the vessel easily, or perhaps even allow for leaves or herbs to be steeped inside, suggesting a tea pot. The legs of the animal would also allow the vessel to be placed on the embers of a fire to be heated without sitting the vessel directly in the fire. The animal features, while humorous in their execution, do also offer practical advantages.