The bowl was commissioned to celebrate Uxbridge's achievement of borough status in 1955, but its origins date back two years earlier to the historic ascent of Mount Everest.
The ascent of Everest
In November 1953, the Goldsmiths' Company announced an open competition for the design of a ceremonial plate to commemorate the first successful ascent of Everest by Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay on 29 May earlier that year.
The winning design by R W Stevens of Kent used sculpted decoration to emphasise the climbers' spirit of exploration and endeavour. This was duly used for the Goldsmiths' Company's plate. The drawings entered for the competition were exhibited at Goldsmiths' Hall in London, as well as at the British Industries Fair.
A bowl for Uxbridge
It was actually another craftsman Eric Clements, placed second, whose design caught the imagination for a separate Uxbridge Borough ceremonial bowl, to be presented by the directors of Auto Diesels Limited.
They decided to use a modified version of his original competition entry, which included the borough coat of arms and inscription. His new design was accepted in November 1955 and passed to Padgett and Braham, who produced the finished bowl in 1956.