Wedgewood Dishes A Simple Dinner Sets Go A Long Way

The time has come when Christmas is only just around the corner and you still have to go shopping to buy presents, decorations, food, Christmas tree etc. You begin to panic as you have realised that you have to buy a completely new range of dinner sets as your old sets have chipped, washed out or cracked. On the other hand, maybe this is your first Christmas dinner to cook for the family and friends, and you have no dishware to serve your dinner.





This year I have noticed a new trend in simple dinner sets and fine crockery for special occasions. People prefer to purchase simple earthenware designs that match well with plain shades of place mats, napkin with a simple napkin ring and long tinted glasses. Putting a simple spread out for Christmas can be more effective than spending huge amounts of money on expensive dishware and tablecloths that will only be used once or twice in a year.





Dinner sets are something that have been around for more than a century, but have not always been a fashion accessory at the dinner table. Having the right set for a special occasion appears to be an essential part of the preparation process for a big meal such as Christmas. It is not enough now to view dishware as just a tool to eat food from; the design of the plate plays an important part in displaying the appeal of the food and its presentation. It is more common now to serve food on plain white plates than it was during the 1980s whereby flower patterned plates were more popular.





History





Historically dinner sets were made from wood, metals, pewter and even animal skulls. Modern dishware is made from stoneware, earthenware, porcelain, glass and melamine resin. The Chinese had discovered the process of making porcelain around 600AD and had begun trading porcelain objects with the European during the 1300s. Owning porcelain made plates was a must-have for the Europeans. It was not until 1708 that a German potter in Meissen discovered the Chinese porcelain making process, beginning a new range of great European potteries.





Some of the most popular and best-known potters were also founded during this period. Famous brands such as Royal Saxon, Wedgewood, Royal Copenhagen and Spode. The practise of collecting souvenir plates was not popularised until 1800s by Patrick Palmer-Thomas, a Dutch-English nobleman who impressed Victorian audiences with his public displays of plates. The first collectible items \'Behind the Frozen Window\', was credited to the Danish namely Bing and Grondahl.


Christmas designed plates were then produced by many of the European countries particularly that of Royal Copenhagen and the Rosenthal series in 1910. It was not long before the European designs were introduced to the U.S with sales going up in souvenir shops, department stores and gift shops.





Plates are still used as a collectible item, mainly for older generations rather than the younger culture. Some popular collectibles are usually from abroad with intricate paintings of the countries national customs captured onto the dish. With different shapes and thickness available, dishwares are an important element in keeping up a good appearance of one\'s efforts on producing a good spread and the most popular designs are simple with a few small accessories to jazz it up.

Anna Stenning has a large collection of \"http://www.denby.co.uk//\">dinner sets and designer plates from around the globe. She purchases her finest sets from http://www.denby.co.uk

wedgewood dishes: wedgewood dishes

wedgewood dishes: antique plate

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Wedgewood Dishes A Short Guide To Ceramic Art

Taking up pottery as a hobby seemed easier when I was a young child, but proved to be something that never interested me. Now, it seems there is nothing more that I want to do than mould a clay into a funny shaped bowl or a unique looking plate. The best part is when you paint and design the dish at the end. The whole process of pottery is completed in a slow, relaxing motion, with steady hands and plenty of patience.





For people who are new to pottery, this is simply the art of creating dishware and adding to the ceramic arts collection. Even though on some famous Hollywood movies pottery is seen to be a romantic activity and a rather easy one at that, it is in fact a difficult art form and very romantic. As cheesey as it might sound this art form is in fact a very old technique and works on promoting a very relaxed approach to creating masterpiece dishes.





Historically pottery was believed to have started in 29,000 to 25,000BC whereby they were hand built and fire in a bon fire. The highest temperature reached from these fires is speculated to have reached around 900 degrees Celsius, which is enough to manipulate sand, crushed shell, grit and bits of pottery from old dishes. The earliest known pottery was of the Gravettian figurine, which is now the Czech Republic.





There have also been some earthenware excavated in China which date back as far as 10,000BC. There have also been vessels found in Japan that date back 10,500BC, which depict much of the Japanese culture on the designs. There have been much evidence of pottery being developed in ancient India, Africa and South America - these were developed independently. Some of these can be seen in local museums, depicting their culture and historical events.





There are three different types of wares earthenware, stoneware and petunste (otherwise known in the West as China clay). The latter of the two, was specifically a Chinese invention and was commonly used in Chinese Porcelain. It is believed that the Chinese people had invented porcelain soon after the Han period, between 200 BC to AD 220. This was a popular type of ware amongst the European for its refined white body and form.





Earthenware has been used for centuries, with the techniques of making earthenware virtually unchanged. This is a blend of clays put together, which is baked in the oven to harden. This is then glazed over to give it a smooth and shiny finish. Stoneware is a much more preferred type of ware for domestic uses and sets into a tough dish once placed in a kiln.





Potters have honed their pottery techniques over the years, beginning with glazing techniques. Glaze was once used as a decorative substance rather than a way of smoothing out the ware once made. This made it watertight and easier to handle. There soon followed coloured glazes. Famous pottery masterpieces have maintained a strong reputation for ceramic arts, these include Pate-sur-pate (Paste on paste) by Marc Louis Solon, products and wares by Josiah Wedgewood, works by Frederick Hurton Read and the famous Minton collections.

Anna Stenning is an expert on pottery having taken up lessons in her local town.

wedgewood dishes: antique blue and white

wedgewood dishes: antique dinnerware

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