Faianças Neto & Gomes, Lda. Pottery: My Latest Thrift Store Find of a Portuguese Olive-Motif Serving Bowl

Faianças Neto & Gomes, Lda. Pottery: My Latest Thrift Store Find of a Portuguese Olive-Motif Serving Bowl, where it originated and how you can use it in your own kitchen.

Copper always stops me in my tracks, but Portuguese and Italian pottery is a close second. Something about a glazed bowl with painted mediterranean details feels instantly collected, like it already has a kitchen history baked into it. On my latest thrift-store haul, I spotted a serving bowl with an olive motif and that soft, Mediterranean palette that makes you want to build an entire tablescape around it. I flipped it over, saw “Made in Portugal”, and went into full “home section detective” mode.

That’s how I met the name Faianças Neto & Gomes Lda. Pottery and once you start pulling on that thread, you realize you are not holding just a pretty bowl. You are holding a piece connected to one of Portugal’s most famous ceramic regions, a long tradition of faience-style tableware, and a pattern that family collectors actively hunt.

Before we talk about the maker, it helps to decode the word you will often see associated with Portuguese ceramics: faiança, often written as “faianças” on company names and backstamps.

In Portugal, faiança generally refers to tin-glazed or enamel-glazed earthenware, a traditional style of tableware that can range from rustic and every day to highly decorative. Much of these pieces originating from Caldas da Rainha, a historic city on the silver coast, widely recognized as one of Portugal’s important ceramic centers, with a long history of local production and innovation.

When you find a bowl stamped “Made in Portugal” with a faiança maker name, you are often looking at a piece designed for real use: serving, entertaining, and daily life, not just display.

The Thrifted Olive Bowl: Why This Pattern Feels So Classic

Olive motifs are one of those designs that work in almost any kitchen style: rustic farmhouse, Mediterranean, vintage eclectic, even clean modern if you mix it right. On the resale market, Faianças Neto & Gomes pieces show up in olive branch and olive fruit designs on pasta bowls, serving bowls, and table pieces. What I love about thrift store pottery finds like this is that they give you “instant storyline.” Someone served something warm and generous in this bowl. Pasta. Salad. Roasted vegetables. Maybe olives and citrus on a summer table.

Why These Pieces Are Collectible

“Collectible” does not always mean rare or expensive. Sometimes it means:

• Easy to mix and match across patterns and eras

• Built for use, not just display

• Strong motif identity, like olives, leaves, cabbage, fish

• Portugal provenance, which collectors intentionally seek for quality and charm

Neto & Gomes fits that sweet spot; approachable prices on the secondhand market, designs that feel timeless, and enough variety that you can build a collection slowly without needing a museum budget.

Serving Ideas for an Olive-Motif Bowl:

This is the part where I start picturing how the bowl lives in a real home, not just on a shelf.

Easy ways to use it:

• A big, tossed salad with citrus segments, feta, and herbs

• Pasta night centerpiece: warm noodles, roasted tomatoes, garlic, and a shower of herbs

• A bread-and-olive spread for guests: crusty bread, marinated olives, almonds, and olive oil

• Fruit on the counter: lemons, limes, or even figs when they are in season

Styling tip:

Olive motifs look especially good with:

• wood boards

• brass or copper accents

• green glass

• simple pottery in cream, tan, and muted blue

It’s that “effortless Mediterranean” vibe, even if you are standing in an East Texas kitchen.

Faianças Neto & Gomes, Lda. Pottery: My Latest Thrift Store Find of a Portuguese Olive-Motif Serving Bowl, Final Thoughts

I love a thrift store find that gives me both beauty and a breadcrumb trail. This olive serving bowl did exactly that. It’s functional, charming, and tied to a real Portuguese ceramics tradition centered around the Caldas da Rainha region. Finding pieces like this olive motif serving bowl is why I never rush through the home aisles at the thrift store. Pottery has a way of grounding a space while still feeling beautiful and intentional. A well-made bowl carries quiet elegance, the kind that works just as well on a farmhouse table as it does styled on open shelving. I love knowing that this piece once served meals somewhere else in the world and now gets to begin a new chapter here at Fig Hollow Farm.

As always, happy collecting!

Jennifer

This bowl is available in our Kitchen/Living section of our website. We only have one so don't miss out!