Valinha Earthenware Footed Fruit Bowl - Grey

A footed bowl in grey earthenware, 23.5cm across and 10.5cm tall, standing on a short pedestal foot that lifts it clear of the table. The inside carries a spiral running from the centre out to the rim, so the surface is ridged rather than flat under the hand. The glaze is reactive and laid on in layers, breaking pale across the raised ridges and pooling darker in the hollows and round the rim, so the grey is never one even tone.

The bowl is wide and shallow rather than deep, and the sides rise only a little, so what goes in it sits proud of the rim instead of down inside. Fruit is the obvious use and the foot lifts it to a height that reads across a table. On a dining table it stands as the centrepiece; on a kitchen counter it takes the day to day fruit at 23.5cm across without needing much of the worktop.

The clay is Portuguese, hand poured into moulds and finished by hand. The reactive glaze moves as it fires, so the depth of the grey and the way it breaks over the spiral differ from one bowl to the next. The Valinha range runs to dinner plates, side plates, cereal bowls, a serving bowl, a round platter and two sizes of jug in the same grey.

How big is the bowl?

23.5cm across and 10.5cm tall to the rim, including the foot.

Is it food safe?

Yes.

What is it made from?

Portuguese earthenware clay under a reactive glaze.

Will every bowl look the same?

Not exactly. The glaze is applied in layers and reacts as it fires, so the tone and the way it breaks over the spiral vary from bowl to bowl.

How do I look after it?

Wash it after every use to stop staining, using a mild detergent, and do not leave it to soak. Handle it with care, as earthenware chips.