This is stylised decorative "Salad Days" serving plate was made by Old Foley in the late 1950s Old Foley pottery was produced by J. Kent in Staffordshire where the made a selection of post-ware domestic decorative ceramics.
This is a large size oval serving platter. It has a cream colour egg-shell glazed which is decorated with stylised vegetables: corn cods, onions, pea pods, tomato, mushrooms. etc. The pattern is called Salad Days.
Putting abstraced fruit and vegetables on mid-century ceramics was certainly very popular at this time, and these patterns were issued by a selection of British and European commercial potteries.
This is certainly a most unusal design by Kent Pottery at Old Foley. The pottery tended to produce much more traditional floral designs. In the 1950s they started to look at more modern designs and produced some contemporary pieces such as this oval modernist plate. It does not seem to have been such a successful venture - and not so many plates in this these ranges were made. This plate certainly reminds me of patterns produced at Poole or Midwinter in the late 50s. A rare piece of mid-century British ceramic design and it will certainly look fabulous in a mid-century kitchen interior.
The plate is in excellent condition with no damage. Dimensions: the platter is oval and measures 10 3/4 x 9 1/4 inches.
History: Old Foley, Longton, was founded by James Aloysius Kent in 1897. In 1953, James Kent passed away and the business was taken over by this son, Phillip. Perhaps this design was an early attempt by him to introduce a more modern output. Kent Pottery continued as a family business in Stoke on Trent up until 2006 when the pottery building was demolished
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