Interesting story Mike. That is a pretty big pot and since it was not a catalog item but a special order I'd say you were lucky. Those signed Japanese pots are surely an investment. A few years back a fellow that had an old bonsai business offered to sell me a couple tokoname pots for what he had in them MANY years earlier. They were both about 29ish inches or a few inches bigger and 8"ish deep. I GRABBED them up for $400 for the both. I scratch traced the stamps and sent to Jim Barrett. He researched and wrote me back telling what they were worth, when made, where exactly . Well, my chin dropped. I decided I didn't have anything I'd dare put in them ( and tell my wife) so figured I better sell them. After a year of taking to shows I was so afraid I'd chip them transporting and moving them.
I began to think that if I still had them when I died my wife could flip one over top the other and they'd maka a good casket for me!
Finally I sold one at about half it's value ( still made a REALLY good profit) but didn't look forward to carrying the other to shows all over so I finally traded it for a fabulous Ponderosa pine I still have and never move. It sits next to my pond in the biggest MICA rectangle
I learned a couple big lessons with those. There is a SMALLLLLL market for huge tokoname pots. Even smaller when you are afraid to transport them! Even smaller when signed/stamped and traceable.
since that time I've become amazed at the size of the chinese pots ( up to 4-5 feet) that sell for practically nothing wholesale ( not including shipping, but still cheap with that included) and are MUCH better quality than only a few years ago.
Dale