delt and flow blue

The large plate in the centre of this display is the most classic looking Blue & White design I have come across by Bisto and is called "Delft" . It is impressed on the back with the date of 1909 and is very traditional in style: a central image of carnations in a garden with a border of crosshatched panels and flower sprigs. The crosshatch is very redolent of original chinese pottery and the earlier attempts by British potters like New Hall to copy the style. Either side of the plate is a pair of Bisto candlesticks; these also date from the Edwardian period and are typical with their swags and roman/greek/classical column shape. The same moulded shape was also used by Bisto for an Oriental Ivory version of the candlesticks, and i have seen them in cream and pink which is very attractive. My pair of candlesticks look like flow blue, a type of earthenware where the blue colour slightly bleeds into the surrounding white because of a "fault" with the glaze and the porousness of the material used. The "fault" of Flow or Flo' Blue was a massive success for potteries at that time and has become extremely popular with today's collectors, especially in America. The beautiful edwardian jardiniere is home to a weeping fig that despite all odds is very happy and has come back from the dead more times than a Dallas character.