Oyster Plate

Description:

Porcelain factories responded to the American passion for oysters by designing special plates on which to serve the delicacy, accompanied by silver-plated forks also designed for the purpose. During the long and lavish dinners characteristic of evening entertainment among the wealthy on the East Coast in the 1870s and 1880s, guests were frequently served their first course on oyster plates such as these gilded examples produced by the Union Porcelain Works, in Greenpoint, New York, around 1881. American and European porcelain factories met increasing affluence and elaborate dining etiquette with an extensive range of items designed for specific foods and beverages. Oyster plates represent one such refinement in response to a newly acquired taste for the shellfish.

Date Made: about 1881

Maker: Union Porcelain Works

Place Made: United States: New York, Brooklyn, Greenpoint

Related Event: The Emergence of Modern America

Subject:

See more items in: Home and Community Life: Ceramics and Glass, Food, Family & Social Life, Domestic Furnishings

Exhibition: On the Water

Exhibition Location: National Museum of American History

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: CE.75.123HCatalog Number: 75.123HAccession Number: 317832

Object Name: Dish, Oysteroyster plate

Physical Description: green (overall color)polychrome (overall surface decoration color name)ceramic, porcelain, hard-paste (overall material)Measurements: overall: 8 5/8 in; x 21.9075 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a3-e141-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_575554

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.