1960s Burton Ware Ribbed Stoneware Pot in Sage Green

A 1960s Burton Ware ribbed stoneware pot in sage green, made by the Bretby Brick and Stoneware Company of Newhall in Staffordshire. Ribbed stoneware brings instant warmth to a kitchen, and this pot has plenty of character. Made in a gently flaring cylinder shape with soft horizontal ribbing running up the body, it wears a lovely pale sage green glaze with a subtle speckle that shifts in the light. The tactile ribbed surface and mellow colour give it real presence on a worktop or a shelf.

The base is impressed Stoneware Burton, the mark of Burton Ware, a green ribbed stoneware range made by the Bretby Brick and Stoneware Company of Newhall, near Burton on Trent in Staffordshire, around the 1960s. It stands 20 x 14 cm, a generous size that easily holds a bunch of wooden spoons, spatulas and whisks by the hob. It is in good order throughout, with the honest surface and small glaze variations you would expect of a piece of its age, all shown closely in the photographs. It is styled here with wooden spoons, which are not included.

Mid century British stoneware like this has a strong following, valued for its clean, functional shapes and the soft natural glazes that sit so easily in a modern kitchen. The pale green is especially versatile.

Stand it by the cooker filled with your everyday utensils, use it as a vase for dried stems or a loose bunch of flowers, or set it on a dresser or shelf as a piece of handmade texture among your ceramics. The gentle green looks lovely against wood, cream and other stoneware. Useful, tactile and full of character, a piece to use every day or to give to someone who loves mid century pottery.