Curiouser and curiouser!
I was about to comment that it looked like the pieces had been made to that shape, with the holes, and then glazed/fired... rather than cut and drilled after they had been glazed/fired. The view of the backs confirms it.
As a wild guess, the clumsy work suggests someone learning about or experimenting with making pottery was producing something decorative... a youngster making pendants alongside mum/dad producing pottery proper or something like that.