Majolica style sgraffito earthenware plate, depicting Berwick-upon-Tweed old bridge, river and swans by Tower House Pottery, Berwick-upon-Tweed.

This plate is handcrafted by the Tower House Pottery company, now located on the banks of Berwick-upon-Tweed. It is made of earthenware highly decorated with drawings using the technique known as sgraffito. Tower House Pottery are known for mainly floral designs, or images reflecting their location, of which this plate shows the latter. After illustrating the raw clay, they are fired, coloured by painting with metal oxides, glazed, then fired again. Each process is done by hand to produce individual pieces.

Sgraffito – decorative work in which the top layer is removed to expose the lower layer. The plates are thrown in red clay, dipped in white slip and scratching through the slip creates the images.

The plate was commissioned by the Borough of Berwick-upon-Tweed to mark 20 years of friendship with the City of Casey. The plate is therefore unique in that the sgraffito inscribes the Casey logo with the Berwick herald and the names 'City of Casey' and 'Berwick-upon-Tweed' around the lip. The bowl has blue and green stripes on the bowl leading down to a hand-drawn image of Berwick on the Tweed River with the Old Bridge and swans in view in the centre of the plate.

The reverse of the plate shows a white painted circle around the base. This is inscribed "to mark 20 years of friendship with the Borough of Berwick-upon-Tweed" and includes images of two fishes swimming in water. Also on the base but not cut into white paint is the potters maker mark and location.