Lidded vessels

Just lately, I've been trying to find a way to make lidded vessels in one piece, so that the lid can be cut out from the solid form, rather than made separately. Ideally I would like the freedom to carve the form, before I fashion the lid. The problem being that, if the form is solid, it's very difficult to gauge the thickness of the clay whilst carving.

The pieces shown below were made using two different methods. A couple were thrown on the wheel as cylinders and then turned over and the base added as a disc of clay. I have to wait and see whether the joins will split in the biscuit firing..I hope not, as it was added when the clay was fresh off the wheel and soaking wet, but you never know. Clay has a way of punishing any slight weaknesses or stresses left in the vessel's structure..and the higher you fire, the wider any cracks become!

The piece back right and the two very small ones were thrown as solid forms, then allowed to dry to leather hard before carving and creating the lid.

I like the larger cylindrical form with the square lid especially..it was inspired by images of Pyxides (boxes) made by the Grotta-Pelos culture (c. 3200 to 2800 BC) in the Cyclades.

Early, cycladic cylindrical pyxis with lid

Early cycladic, cylindrical pyxis

Images borrowed from: http://colorado.edu/cuartmuseum/collection/classics/greekvases/2006.38ab.T.html