Cattle brands and hieroglyphs

I like the little marks potters put on the bottom of ceramics. This has me thinking of cattle brands.

I'm also smitten with the idea of carving a design into the foot of a piece - like Valeria Miglioli and Barnaby Barford did here. Do you see? You never leave behind a ring - instead your tablecloths and tabletops are covered in coffee brands - initials, pictures, symbols, secret codes, Egyptian hieroglyphs!