Friday, November 4, 2011

China & Dinnerware Pieces - How to identify What You Have

The world of china dinnerware is vast and varied. There are thousands of manufacturers, hundreds of thousands of patterns, and many pieces to each pattern. To gain a farranging knowledge of this manufactures requires a lifetime of study. However, there are some china basics that are easy to learn and remember, but are still unknown to many citizen who could advantage from this information. Studying some base china terms can clear up much obscuring and heighten your quality to buy, sell or enjoy china dinnerware.

There is much uncertainty with regard to the names of separate china pieces. As there are no official, uniform guidelines, obscuring is the definite result. What one someone calls a salad plate is referred to by others as a side plate, a creamer is called a milk jug etc. It is also difficult to resolve permissible nomenclature when there are separate sizes involved. For example, if a 7 1/2 inch plate is a salad plate, is a 8 1/2 inch plate a luncheon plate or is it still called a salad plate? When is it a Cream Soup set and when is a Bouillon set? This is particularly foremost to many who are curious in purchasing china and would like to know exactly what it is they are getting.

12 OUNCES EQUALS HOW MANY CUPS

To attempt to name and by comparison every piece ever made is near impossible. Over the years there have been thousands of separate piece types made by hundreds of separate manufacturers. Even a farranging dispell is beyond the scope of this article. Instead, let us focus on some of the more base pieces available. There is no right or wrong when it comes to piece names, we are just going to list the more ordinarily used ones.

The approved unit is the Five Piece Place setting, which ordinarily consists of the following pieces: evening meal Plate, Salad Plate, Bread & Butter Plate, Cup and Saucer.

Dinner Plate - Flat, ordinarily round, ranges from 9 3/4" to 11" in diameter
Salad Plate (side plate)- Flat, ordinarily round, ranges from 7 3/4" to 8 3/4" in diameter
Bread & Butter Plate (dessert plate, cake plate) - Flat, ordinarily round, ranges from 6" to 7 3/4" in diameter
Tea Cup (coffee) - Comes in many separate styles and shapes (Leigh, Peony, Footed or Flat etc.) ranges from 2" to 2 3/4" in height
Saucer - Flat, round, with indentation for the cup

These additional pieces, while ordinarily not included in the place setting, are often part of the formal table.

Luncheon Plate (often confused with the evening meal or salad plates) - Flat, ordinarily round, ranges from 9" to 9 3/4" in diameter
Soup Bowl - comes rimmed or coupe (no rim), ranges from 7 1/4" to 9"
Fruit/Dessert Bowl - comes rimmed or coupe (no rim), ranges from 4" to 5 3/4"
Cream Soup & Saucer - two handled cup, ordinarily short and wide, indented saucer (bouillon soup cups are narrow and tall, also with two handles)
Cereal Bowl - comes rimmed or coupe (no rim), ranges from 5" to 7"
Demitasse Cup & Saucer (after dinner, chocolate) - Much smaller than quarterly tea cups, come footed and flat, saucer ordinarily indented
Mug - Tall, large cup, no saucer, flat or footed, occasionally differs slightly in produce from the rest of the pattern.
Charger - (often confused with the evening meal or chop (12" serving) plates) - Flat, ordinarily round, ranges from 11" to 12" in diameter

Serving pieces also come in a wide range of piece types, sizes and shapes. The following are some of the more base pieces:

Creamer (milk jug) - handles with spout for pouring, many separate sizes, often even for the same pattern
Sugar Bowl - ordinarily with a lid, occasionally open, roughly always with handles.
Oval Vegetable Bowl (salad bowl, serving bowl) - rimmed and coup (no rim), used for salads, pasta etc., ranges from 9" to 10 3/4"
Round Vegetable Bowl (salad bowl, serving bowl) - rimmed and coup (no rim), used for salads, pasta etc., ranges from 8" to 10 3/4"
Oval Serving Platter (meat platter) - comes in many separate sizes, starting from 10 all the way to 19" in length, occasionally bigger (length is the determining factor, not width). When referring to platters, actual size is important. "Big" or "small" mean separate things to separate people. Use the actual length to by comparison what you are referring to.
Gravy Boat & Under plate (platter) - Under plate comes isolate or attached. Sometimes with handle, occasionally with duplicate spout.
Tea Pot with Lid - short and stout
Coffee Pot with Lid - Tall and thin
Covered Vegetable Bowl - Round or oval, duplicate handled, often confused with soup tureen, which is much bigger
Tureen or Soup Tureen - Large round bowl with lid, ordinarily footed, occasionally with under plate or nook for ladle

Knowing what you are seeing for will go along to ensure that you actually get it and not some similar-but-not-what-you-wanted piece which will not suit your purposes. A small knowledge goes a long way.

China & Dinnerware Pieces - How to identify What You Have

12 OUNCES EQUALS HOW MANY CUPS

No comments:

Post a Comment