The iconic Burleigh Blue Calico bowl, is one of the most celebrated and recognisable designs in British ceramic history manufactured by Burgess & Leigh (trading under the brand name Burleigh).
 
The Blue Calico pattern was officially introduced by Burleigh in 1968.  The iconic, all-over pattern features a dense blossom layout directly inspired by 19th-century indigo print calico fabrics. In 1967, an agent representing an American distributor visited Burleigh's Middleport factory clutching a scrap of antique floral fabric. He challenged the designers to adapt the textile's deep blue, dense scrolling blossom motif onto earthenware.
 
Even though the layout was organized in 1968, the copper plates used to print it were hand-cut using the exact same painstakingly detailed, heavy stippling engraving methods Burgess & Leigh used throughout the Victorian era. This density of ink gives it that deep, slightly blurred historic "flow blue" aesthetic rather than the crisp, sterile look of modern machine-printed pottery. The pattern made with an underglazed tissue transfer printing process and Burleigh is the last remaining pottery works in the world to still practice this 200-year-old method. Master craftsmen manually press ink from hand-engraved copper rollers onto fine tissue paper, which is then carefully rubbed onto the curved surface of the unfired earthenware.
 
This is one of the original bowls manaufactured in the late 1960's and is in excellent condition - no chips or  cracks and is planted up with white cyclamen which will flower for ages.
 
H: 9cm
W: 22cm