Pair of Brown Stoneware Lidded Cooking Pots

There’s something especially inviting about old-fashioned kitchen pottery – pieces that look as though they belong beside a range cooker, filled with something slowly bubbling away.

This lovely matching pair of vintage glazed stoneware cooking pots has exactly that character.

Each pot has a rounded body finished in a rich chestnut-brown glaze, a substantial single side handle and its own domed lid with a hole in it.

Rather than a conventional solid knob, the lids have distinctive open chimney-style handles, giving the pair an unusual and instantly recognisable appearance. The deep caramel-brown glaze catches the light beautifully and has the slight variations and character that make older stoneware so much more interesting than modern mass-produced ceramics.

They are particularly appealing displayed together, with their handles turned in opposite directions as shown in the photographs. They would make a wonderful addition to a French country, rustic farmhouse or traditional kitchen, whether arranged on open shelving, a dresser or alongside a collection of old stoneware and kitchenalia.

Although originally made as functional kitchenware, today we think they're every bit as good simply enjoyed as decorative pieces – especially for anyone who loves the warm earthy colours of traditional European pottery. Sold as a matching pair.

Measurements

Each Pot 18 cm wide including handle × 12 cm deep × 11 cm high 

Material

Glazed stoneware / ceramic 

Why We Like Them

It's unusual to find a matching pair, and that's what really makes these. The rich brown glaze has a lovely warmth to it, but it's the shape that caught our attention – particularly those chunky handles and wonderfully distinctive open-topped lids.

Put them amongst wooden boards, old linen and cream stoneware and they immediately give you that relaxed, collected-over-time country kitchen look. And because they're a pair, they have far more decorative impact than a single pot would on its own. From the Brocante Trail Brown glazed earthenware and stoneware was once an everyday sight in European kitchens. These weren't precious display pieces. Pots like these were made to be handled, used and kept close to the stove, with robust forms, thick walls and practical handles suited to the working kitchen.

That utilitarian heritage is precisely why they work so well in interiors today. Their uncomplicated shapes and earthy glazes bring warmth and authenticity to a kitchen without feeling overly decorative.

These two have survived together as a pair – and we'd certainly keep them that way.