Vintage Ironstone Style Jug and Bowl Set in Blue Ditsy Floral with Gilt Rim

A small wash set that has swapped its Victorian duties for something far more decorative. This vintage jug and bowl is white glazed ceramic with moulded scrollwork and leaf relief running around both pieces, scattered with a ditsy blue floral print and finished with a fine gilt line along every edge. The jug has the generous belly, pinched spout and looped handle of the classic bedroom ewer, and the bowl sits neatly beneath it with a softly scalloped rim.

Sets like this were made from the late 19th century onwards as washstand ware, then revived through the 20th century as purely ornamental pieces once plumbing made the originals redundant. This one is marked CPF to the base and has the crisp moulding and bright glaze of a later production, which means it is robust enough to use rather than just admire. The bowl measures 25 cm across and 7 cm deep, and the jug stands 21 cm tall and 17 cm wide including the handle, so it is a compact pairing rather than a full sized washstand set.

We would put the bowl to work holding soaps and a nail brush beside a bathroom basin, with the jug alongside for stems of eucalyptus or dried hydrangea heads. It works just as well on a bedroom chest of drawers, on a windowsill in a cottage kitchen, or as the centrepiece of a dressing table with a few blue and white pieces gathered around it. Blue and white ceramics are forgiving mixers, so this sits happily beside Cornishware, willow pattern or any of the sprigged floral china currently having its moment.

The gilt is still bright, the glaze is clean and the transfer print is unfaded, with only the light surface marks you would expect from a piece that has lived on a shelf. A pretty, useful and slightly nostalgic pair for anyone building a soft, English country look.