211 days until Saint Paddy's Day! Thus, what better time to share this handsome Irish ceramic bowl, made in the Sixties. Modernist, indeed, but decorated with fascinatingly ancient (and timeless) Irish Celtic knots.
This bowl was made by Wade (an English ceramics company) in its Irish workshop which opened in 1946 (in Ulster, Northern Ireland). The designer was James Borsey (1920-1977). The line, called "Celtic Kells," was comprised of six different pieces and was inspired by decoration in the illuminated manuscript, The Book of Kells (c. 800), which can now be seen in the Trinity College Library, Dublin.
This line was made in very limited production runs—and only for a couple of years in the Sixties. Much of the production was shipped to America—where it sold-out. Perhaps Irish Americans had developed a romantic fixation with Ireland's native cultural identity sooner than it took root in British Northern Ireland? The line was not very popular in Northern Ireland; Wade employees referred to it as "The Knots." The whole line was discontinued after two years.
It is a handsome bowl—with nice finishing and a good weight (for its modest size). The grayish-green color is sophisticated, especially contrasted against the interior's buff-yellow glazing. Click on the photo above to learn more about it.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
We also can be found in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, at The Antique Center of Strabane (www.antiquecenterofstrabane.com).
Or call to arrange to visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only). 917-446-4248