Porcelain service: history, types, care rules

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Starting from children's sets for toy tea drinking and ending with luxurious antique porcelain, the sets that came to us from the East have become an integral part of everyday life. Neither a friendly meeting, nor a gala dinner, nor family gatherings can do without them. Porcelain service is not only an interior decoration, but also practical tableware that will bring aesthetic pleasure to those who use it over and over again. Read more about its history, types and intricacies of care below.

Back to the past

Pottery has accompanied man since time immemorial and is found in excavations around the globe. However, tea and dinner sets in the closest sense to today appeared in China, where porcelain was invented in 620. The ruling Song Dynasty built factories to produce tableware from this material. Moreover, white porcelain was produced in the north of the empire, and light blue in the south. To Europe hegot around 1400, where services of unprecedented beauty for those times became very popular among the we althy.

Moreover, for 300 years the Chinese managed to remain monopolists in this area. And only in 1708 was it possible to experimentally obtain European porcelain. In Russia, its formula was discovered by the scientist D. I. Vinogradov in the late 1740s, which made it possible to manufacture such dishes in St. Petersburg.

What is a traditional Chinese porcelain tea set made of?

It includes not only the usual elements for us, but also a lot of interesting utensils:

• kettle;
• tray;
• small cups strictly in the form of bowls;
• tea tools (spoon for transferring tea to a teapot, a needle for cleaning the spout of tea, a funnel for pouring tea, tongs for taking hot bowls, a knife for cutting a pressed product);
• strainer;
• The beautiful small clay animal figurine is a necessary decorative item to contemplate while enjoying a drink.

Chinese porcelain service, as a rule, is painted with complex patterns with a very high degree of detail.

New traditions

Europe actively picked up Eastern customs and eventually defined its own standards. Denmark was the first to popularize porcelain and tea. The services of this country were distinguished by light color, practical, a little rough, but durable design. They were often applied with drawings depicting scenes in a pastoralstyle. The cups had a round, wide bottom to keep the drink warm longer.

The Russians were inferior in their love for tea only to the British and achieved an unprecedented skill in making beautiful dishes. The sets were made of rather thick porcelain with complex, ornate patterns. The dishes had rounded edges.

The British, who treat tea not just as a drink, but as a way of life, have made the porcelain service a real work of art. Elongated shapes and floral patterns became especially popular. During the Victorian era, beautiful tea and dinner sets were a must for all meals in we althy homes. And since porcelain is a fragile material, there were several popular patterns on sale for a long time, and if necessary, buyers could replace a broken element or simply increase their set of dishes, keeping everything in the same style.

Today

A modern china set includes at least 6 cups, 6 saucers and 1 teapot. But there are also larger sets. In addition to more cups and saucers (12 pieces), they may include: several teapots, a sugar bowl with a lid, a scoop for cream, a cake plate, a tray.

What is the difference between a porcelain coffee set and a tea set? First of all, the size of the cups: the stronger the drink, the smaller they are. In addition, for tea, the saucer should be with a recess so that you can drink a drink from it, while the coffee saucer should be completely flat.

Dinner service can have much morecomponents: deep plates for soup, small - for snacks, plates for dessert or pies, tureen, s alt shaker, butter dish, etc.

For everyday use, it is better to get a separate set with thicker porcelain and a stable shape of dishes. White color is especially popular, because it beautifully sets off and does not distort the color of drinks and dishes. In addition, it is easy to combine with other dishes and the overall style of the kitchen.

Proper care

Porcelain service with exquisite decor can become a family heirloom. But in order for it to remain safe and sound for as long as possible, it is important to know some rules. Here's how to care for porcelain tea and dinner sets:

• wash dishes with a mild detergent and do not rub the gold plated areas as they will wear off quickly;
• when storing saucers in a “stack”, place a piece of thick paper between them;
• carefully raise and lower the lids on the dishes;
• try to carry teapots, cups, tureens and other similar items not only by the handles, but also lightly holding them with your hand;
• saucers and trays should not be taken at the very edge, but closer to the center.