[Sca-cooks] Tableware

[Mercy Neumark]

>Does anyone have recommendations on sources for period (or
>period-appearing) tableware? I've been relying on Chris for feast >gear,
>but I think I should be thinking about getting my own, and don't want >to
>break the bank doing it.

Well, technically, there are potteries in Italy that still produce the same
style wares that they did in period, only a little less fancy.  If you go
online and type in maiolica, you should get many hits.  Or even go on ebay
and look for italian maiolica or spanish maiolica or even delfware.  I THINK
Pottery Barn carries some maiolica plates with blues, reds and yellows with
the diapering that is associated with scrollwork and illumination.

The wooden plate thing sort of bothers me personally.  Unless you were dirt
poor, after the 11th century, most merchant,upper class lords and ladies
ether ate off metal plates or had pottery (the aforementioned maiolica in
europe, if you were in asia, you got the cool porcelain).  And a plate isn't
that much more costwise than a wooden bowl, and a ceramic plate is more
hygenically safe (albeit wood isn't as fragile as a plate).

I wrote an article for the TI which will be hopefully published next year
sometime on maiolica. Yeay! And you all thought I only preached the gossiple
of pottery here, huh?  Convert!  Convert you evil ways! ;)

--Arte the flag waver for pottery

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