Guy Sydenham octopus?

Handmade pottery octopus. Red clay body. White and grey-blue glaze.
Mark (if there is one) hidden under a dribble of glaze.
The way the suction cups on the tentacles are made is very similar to those on Guy Sydenham's octopi, and it appears to be the same clay.
Could this be one of his or Joan's pieces?

I don't think so Naomi. Everything Guy did was wheel thrown and then modelled whereas your octopus looks slip cast. Joan mainly made jewellery (beads).

Everything Guy did was wheel thrown

Even the chess pieces, cats, fish, etc?

Joan also made bears and ballerinas and other figurines, however this octopus is more like Guy's work than hers.

sorry naomi but it isn't a Sydenham octopus.
Guy would throw just about everything then model the smaller,more detailed elements to complete a piece.
I do however have a couple of small mermaids from his Long Island days.
Joan was a ballerina and Guy made some ballerina models for her dance school but I don't remember seeing one made by Joan?

http://www.pooleimages.co.uk/Pages/GuySydenham.aspx

whereas your octopus looks slip cast

No, it's been done by hand.

Ok, so the only reason I'm being given so far for it not being by Guy is because it doesn't look like it was wheel thrown. I'd assumed it was made by the pinch-pot method, because of it's size. It's not slip cast. The tentacles have been rolled and added separately. I've now looked inside and there are traces of banding which would point to the body originally being wheel thrown. The large hole in the base appears to have been made by a circular cutter. The eyes have been built up and the holes are poked in. The details on the tentacles have been done by hand.
Now what?
I'm not desperate for it to be by Guy, just curious, and he seems the most likely contender in my eyes, at this point.
Alternatives are Seal Island, Selsey, Pottery; and John Bordeaux's Pottery, and Animal Friends, but it's the wrong clay and glaze, and they are slip cast or moulded.

wow thanks for the link Naomi,there have been dozens of additions since I last visited the online museum  

I do like your octopus but the finish is not as good as a Guy Sydenham piece and the colours don't fit with his other work.
I suppose there is an outside chance that Joan made it but just about everything made by them was stamped

Some of those pieces are truely stunning .

Guy was an outstanding potter

NaomiM wrote:

Everything Guy did was wheel thrown

Even the chess pieces, cats, fish, etc?

Joan also made bears and ballerinas and other figurines, however this octopus is more like Guy's work than hers.

The fish were wheel thrown in a bottle shape and then flattened, there is something about him doing that in his book. Not 100% sure about the others but he was very ingenious.

However, I assumed the hole was from slip casting but if it has been cut afterwards the wheel thrown thing is a red herring.

Also, as Dan says, the virtual museum has grown since I was last there. I haven't seen half of those pictures before. Thanks for prompting another visit!

Yea, Lots of lovely stuff on the virtual museum.  

The glaze on the body of the octopus is far better than comes across in the photos. Tbh, it's better than the glaze in photos of Guys pieces on the virtual museum.

why not have another go at photographing it...

I doubt another photo would help. It's one of those things that's better in the flesh.
Just to add, spotted magnolia paint spots amongst the tentacles, so it's got a bit of age to it.