In this blog we will be exploring the world of the dinner set, providing some examples of great ones, and letting you know where you can obtain them.

In ancient times, civilizations were often identified by the pottery remains that archaeologists found on their dig sites.  In fact, many ancient peoples valued their dinnerware and pottery so much that they were even buried with it!

Today’s dinnerware is now commonly referred to as “China”.  Why is this?  This is because dinnerware is generally made out of porcelain, and it was invented by the Chinese over 1000 years ago.  It was most likely invented during the Tang Dynasty, but the emperors of the Song Dynasty seem to get most of the credit.  About midway through the Song Dynasty, around 1100 AD, the art and skill of porcelain making had spread throughout the East.  By 1400 AD it had migrated to Europe.

The cost of importing fine dinnerware from China was every expensive, so only the very rich could afford to own it.  As a result, the Europeans started to develop their own “China” factories.  They modified the process a bit, using a different mixture of clays and other materials.  This created a “softer China”, and had a duller or “softer tone” of the similar product being produced in China.  In England, around the 1700’s, another form of “China” was starting to be developed.  Called “Bone China”, it is made from a mixture of porcelain clays, and bone ash.

It’s interesting that many of our most collectable and valuable dinnerware is made from pottery, not porcelain.  Sometimes known as “earthenware”, it was extremely popular during the 1950’s and 1960’s.

The most widely used pottery today is probably something called “Stoneware”.  It seems to be almost everywhere these days, from stores to homes to restaurants.  Stoneware pottery is fired at a very high temperature until it is completely solid and able to hold liquids.  The process for creating Stoneware, like that of porcelain, originated in China…about 3500 years ago.  Some of the most sought after pieces of Stoneware were created here in the United States (in the Virginia and New England areas to be more exact) in the mid 1800’s.

Let’s look at some of the fine pieces of dinnerware that are available today, and where you can obtain them.