This is a rare survivor and is now much sought after. It is a unique mid-century bowl dating to the 1950s and made by Il Quadrifoglio (Milvia) in Italy.
The painter of the designs was called Milvia and she was born in 1934. She studied ceramics at the Istituto d’Arte in Florence. In 1955, Il Quadrifoglio was founded in an attic in Florence to produce ceramics and other homewares, with Milvia being their major designer until around 1958. Il Quadrifoglio’s products were sold exclusively in a shop called Botto in Via Strozzi and from there they were exported outside of Italy. Milvia went on to design fabrics for Zucchi and Fiorio Foulards, both in Milan, Myricae in Rome, Cole in California, and the prestigious Liberty of London (acknowledgment is made here to Mark Hill, the author of Alla Moda: Italian Ceramics of the 1950s-70s for his recent research into this subject).
It is signed on the base: Italy c 24 - and with the Quadrifoglio flower motif (or four-leaf clover). The pottery was active for only a short period - from 1955-1960 in Firenze. Italy.
It features in the interior of the bowl a quirky little drawing of a young lady wearing a flowery dress. It must be summertime and she has been out in the countryside with her old bicycle (seen to the right and drawn in blue). The exterior of the bowl has a pattern of grey hand-embellished lines - looking a little like they were done with crayon - and there are also two naive bunches of flowers.
It is a large bowl - and would probably have been intended as a fruit bowl - but the design on the interior is just so cute that you would want to see it all the time! I hope that my images of the bowl justice - as decorated "in-the-round" it has been hard to photograph well. Given its rarity, larger size, and it is a unique piece of Art Pottery over 70 years old - my price for this is certainly a fair one.
Dimensions: The diameter at the top is 10 3/4 inches and it is 4 1/2 inches in height. Has a good bit of weight to it - it comes in at 1.5 kg in weight.
It would have to be for UK posting only. This will be with Royal Mail Recorded Delivery and will cost £10. This will be applied to your order at the checkout.