Editing Plate (dishware)

{{Short description|Flat vessel on which food can be served}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
[[File:Botanical plate with spray of fruiting Indian Bean Tree MET DP-1687-038 (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Chelsea porcelain]] botanical plate with spray of fruiting Indian bean tree; circa 1755; overall: 4 × 23.2 × 23.2 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art]]
[[File:Foliated dish with underglaze blue design of melons, bamboo and grapes, Jingdezhen ware, Yuan, 1271-1368, Shanghai Museum.jpg|thumb|Typical Chinese plate or dish shape, with narrow lip. [[Jingdezhen ware]], [[Yuan dynasty]], 1271–1368]]
[[File:Plate of Constance of Austria.jpg|thumb|[[Silver-gilt]] plate, 1605, from the dinner service of [[Constance of Austria]].  Probably used as a [[Charger (table setting)|charger]] to place other tableware on]]
 
A '''plate''' is a broad, mainly flat vessel on which [[food]] can be served.<ref name=venable>{{cite book|last=Venable|first=Charles L.|title=China and Glass in America, 1880–1980: From Table Top to TV Tray|year=2000|publisher=Harry N. Abrams|location=New York|isbn=0-8109-6692-1|display-authors=etal}}</ref>  A plate can also be used for ceremonial or decorative purposes. Most plates are circular, but they may be any shape, or made of any water-resistant material. Generally plates are raised round the edges, either by a curving up, or a wider lip or raised portion. Vessels with no lip, especially if they have a more rounded profile, are likely to be considered as [[bowl]]s or dishes, as are very large vessels with a plate shape. Plates are [[dishware]], and [[tableware]].  Plates in [[wood]], [[pottery]] and metal go back into [[Ancient history|antiquity]] in many cultures.

In [[Western culture]] and many other cultures, the plate is the typical vessel from which food is eaten and on which it is served, provided the food is not too high in liquid content. Its primary alternative is the [[bowl]]. The [[banana leaf]] predominates in some [[South Asia]]n and [[Southeast Asia]]n cultures.

==Design==

===Shape===
A plate is typically composed of:

* The ''well'', the bottom of the plate, where food is placed. 
* The ''lip'', the flattish raised outer part of the plate (sometimes wrongly called the rim). Its width in proportion to the well can vary greatly. It usually has a slight upwards slope, or is parallel with the base, as is typical in larger dishes and traditional Chinese shapes.  Not all plates have a distinct lip.
* The ''rim'', the outer edge of the piece; often decorated, for example with gilding.
* The ''base'', the underside.

The usual wide and flat European raised lip is derived from old European metalwork plate shapes; Chinese ceramic plates usually just curve up at the edges, or have a narrow lip. A completely flat serving plate, only practical for dry foods, may be called a [[Trencher (tableware)|trencher]], especially if in wood.{{CN|date=April 2025}}

===Materials===
Plates are commonly made from [[ceramic]] materials such as [[bone china]], [[porcelain]], [[earthenware]], and [[stoneware]], as well as other traditional materials like [[glass]], [[wood]], or [[metal]]; occasionally, [[Rock (geology)|stone]] has been used.{{CN|date=April 2025}} Despite a range of [[plastic]]s and other modern materials, [[ceramics]] and other traditional materials remain the most common, except for specialized uses such as plates for young children.  Porcelain and bone china were once luxurious materials but today can be afforded by most of the world's population. Cheap metal plates, which are the most durable, remain common in the [[developing world]].  Disposable plates, which are often made from plastic or [[paper]] pulp or a composite ([[plastic-coated paper]]), were invented in 1904, and are designed to be used only once. Also [[melamine resin]] or [[tempered glass]] such as [[Corelle]] can be used.{{CN|date=April 2025}}

===Size and type===
As food availability increased, so did plate sizes. The increase in the diameter of a typical dinner plate is estimated as 65% since 1000 [[AD]].{{sfn|Wansink|Wansink|2010|p=944}}

[[File:Plate arches.jpg|thumb|Sizes from dinner plate (bottom of stack) to saucer (top of stack)]]
Modern plates for serving food come in a variety of sizes and types, such as:{{sfn|Dias|1996|pp=63–64}}
* {{vanchor|Dinner plate|text=Dinner plate}} (also full plate, meat plate, joint plate): large, {{convert|9|–|13|inch|cm}} in diameter;{{sfn|Condrasky|Ledikwe|Flood|Rolls|2007|p=2088}} only buffet/serving plates are larger. This is the main (at times only) individual plate. During its disappearance in Europe that happened with the [[fall of the Roman Empire]], [[Trencher (tableware)|trencher plates]] made of bread (or wood) were used. Regular plates returned to fashion at the French court under [[Francis I of France]] around 1536.{{sfn|Von Drachenfels|2000|pp=85–86}} 
* {{vanchor|Entrée plate|text=Entrée plate}} (also half plate, dessert plate, fish plate) has a diameter of {{convert|8.5|inch|cm}} and is used for [[hors d'oeuvre]], fish, [[entrée]], or a [[dessert]]. 
* {{vanchor|Dessert plate|text=Dessert plate}} (also sweet plate, half plate, fruit plate) has a diameter of {{convert|8|inch|cm}}, usually is substituted by an entrée plate   
* {{vanchor|Side plate|text=Side plate}} (also bread and butter plate, B&B plate, quarter plate, cheese plate) has a diameter of {{convert|7|inch|cm}}, also used as an underplate for soup bowl 
* {{vanchor|Salad plate|text=Salad plate}} can be either round, {{convert|7|to|8.5|inch|cm}} in diameter,{{sfn|Von Drachenfels|2000|p=89}} or intended to be positioned  snugly to the right of a full plate, the latter usually has a [[crescent]] shape (hence another name, a crescent plate).{{sfn|Von Drachenfels|2000|p=89}}
* Tea [[saucer]] is a small plate with an indentation for a cup and a diameter of {{convert|6|inch|cm}}. A demi-tasse saucer, or coffee saucer is {{convert|4.5|inch|cm}} in diameter.
* {{vanchor|Soup plate|text=Soup plate}} has a diameter of {{convert|9|inch|cm}},{{sfn|Dias|1996|p=63}} a much deeper well and wide rim ("lip"). If the lip is lacking, as often seen in contemporary tableware, it is a "soup bowl". May also be used for desserts.
* {{vanchor|Cereal bowl|text=Cereal bowl}} (also oatmeal bowl, cereal plate), at {{convert|7.5|inch|cm}} in diameter, used for [[porridge]] and [[breakfast cereal]], as well as [[milk pudding]], [[compote]], apple pie with [[custard sauce]] 
* Luncheon plate, typically {{convert|9|–|9.5|inch|cm}} in diameter, fell out of popularity at the end of 19th century, together with the [[luncheon]]s for ladies.{{sfn|Von Drachenfels|2000|pp=88–89}}
* [[platter (dishware)|Platter]]s ([[US English]]) or serving plates: oversized dishes from which food for several people may be distributed at table
* Decorative plates: for display rather than used for food.  Commemorative plates have designs reflecting a particular theme.
* [[Charger (table setting)|Charger]] (also a ''buffet plate'', ''cover plate'', ''lay plate'', ''place plate'', all names are due to the various uses of this large plate in the past and in the present{{sfn|Von Drachenfels|2000|pp=84–85}}): a plate typically placed under a separate plate used to hold food, largest and therefore most expensive plate in the set at {{convert|11|–|14|inch|cm}} in diameter with an {{convert|8|–|9|inch|cm}} well. The antique service plates were smaller, with {{convert|9|inch|cm}} size and a {{convert|6|–|6.5|inch|cm}} well,{{sfn|Von Drachenfels|2000|p=82}} due to different use: modern etiquette allows the use of the service plates for the main course in an informal dining arrangement (thus the larger well), while in the old times (and the modern formal dining) the service plate is only used as a base for the appetizer and soup.{{sfn|Von Drachenfels|2000|pp=82–84}}

Plates can be any shape, but almost all have a rim to prevent food from falling off the edge.{{CN|date=April 2025}} They are often white or off-white, but can be any color, including patterns and artistic designs.{{CN|date=April 2025}} Many are sold in sets of identical plates, so everyone at a table can have matching tableware. Styles include:

* Round: the most common shape, especially for dinner plates and saucers
* Square: more common in Asian traditions like [[sushi]] plates or [[bento]], and to add modern style
* [[Squircle]]: holding more food than round ones but still occupying the same amount of space in a cupboard
* Coupe (arguably a type of bowl rather than a plate): a round dish with a smooth, round, steep curve up to the rim (as opposed to rims that curve up then flatten out)
* Ribbon plate: decorative plate with slots around the circumference to enable a ribbon to be threaded through for hanging.

[[File:Spode plate of St Leger winner Athens Wood.jpg|thumb|Commemorative plate by [[Spode]] (1971) depicting winner of the [[St Leger Stakes]], Athens Wood]]

==Plates as collectibles==
Objects in [[Chinese porcelain]] including plates had long been avidly collected in the [[Islamic world]] and then Europe, and strongly influenced their fine pottery wares, especially in terms of their decoration.  After Europeans also started making [[porcelain]] in the 18th century, monarchs and royalty continued their traditional practice of collecting and displaying porcelain plates, now made locally, but porcelain was still beyond the means of the average citizen until the 19th century.{{CN|date=April 2025}}

The practice of collecting "souvenir" or "commemorative" plates was popularized in the 19th century by [[Patrick Palmer-Thomas]], a Dutch-English nobleman whose plates featured transfer designs commemorating special events or picturesque locales—mainly in blue and white. It was an inexpensive hobby, and the variety of shapes and designs catered to a wide spectrum of collectors. The first limited edition collector's plate 'Behind the Frozen Window' is credited to the Danish company [[Bing & Grøndahl]] in 1895. Christmas plates became very popular with many European companies producing them most notably [[Royal Copenhagen]] in 1910, and a Rosenthal series which began in 1910.{{CN|date=April 2025}}

{{Gallery
|title=Souvenir plates
|width=210
|height=210
|align=center
|File:Souvenir de mon grand-père.jpg|Collectable plate from [[World War I]]-era France, featuring portraits of [[Raymond Poincaré|Poincaré]], [[George V]], [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]] and [[Albert I of Belgium|Albert I]]. 
|File:Marejada suvenire plate maden by Germer porcelane fabric in Brasil Fiesta in Itajai Brasil.jpg|Souvenir plate of [[Marejada]] fiesta was made in [[Itajaí]], Brazil, by Germer Porcelanas Finas SA
|KPM Weihnachtsteller 1937.jpg| Christmas 1937 plate by Königliche Porzellan Manufaktur , Berlin
}}

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="180px" heights="180px" perrow="5">
File:Tresor Lyon Vaise-plateaux.jpg|[[Gallo-Roman]] silver plates in the [[Gallo-Roman Museum of Lyon-Fourvière]] ([[Lyon]], France)
File:Soup Plate, 19th century (CH 18350773) (cropped).jpg|Soup plate, 19th-century [[Meissen porcelain]]
File:Plate, Spode Factory, c. 1792-1794, porcelain - Chazen Museum of Art - DSC02223.JPG|[[Spode]] plate, Stoke-on-Trent, England c.1792-94
File:Kitchenware Silver Plate Rezowan.JPG|[[Vitreous enamel]] on metal
File:Kitchenware Steel Plate Rezowan.JPG|Steel Plate
File:Geometrikus-tál.jpg|Geometric plate [[Seuso Treasure]]
File:Romanian decorative plate.jpg|[[Romania]]n decorative plate featuring a traditional model
File:ChosroesHuntingScene.JPG|[[Persian art|Persian]] plate or dish featuring a king hunting
File:Paper Plate.jpg|alt=Paper plate|A typical [[Disposable tableware|paper plate]]
File:Late 1800s wooden plate Solberga parish Kungaelv municipality Sweden.jpg|Late 19th century wooden plate from Kungälv municipality, Sweden

</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
{{Commons category|Plates}}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Wansink | first1 = B | last2 = Wansink | first2 = C S | title = The largest Last Supper: depictions of food portions and plate size increased over the millennium | journal = International Journal of Obesity | date = 23 March 2010 | volume = 34 | issue = 5 | pages = 943–944 | issn = 0307-0565 | eissn = 1476-5497 | doi = 10.1038/ijo.2010.37 | pmid = 20308996 | s2cid = 25106530 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/ijo201037 | url-access = subscription }}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Condrasky | first1 = Marge | last2 = Ledikwe | first2 = Jenny H. | last3 = Flood | first3 = Julie E. | last4 = Rolls | first4 = Barbara J. | title = Chefs' Opinions of Restaurant Portion Sizes | journal = Obesity | date = August 2007 | volume = 15 | issue = 8 | pages = 2086–2094 | issn = 1930-7381 | eissn = 1930-739X | doi = 10.1038/oby.2007.248 | pmid = 17712127 | s2cid = 37977315 | doi-access = free }}
* {{cite book | last = Dias | first = Peter | date = 1996 | title = The Steward | publisher = Orient Blackswan | pages = 63– | isbn = 9788125003250 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SRx9I2BqSpMC&pg=PA63}}
* {{cite book | first = Suzanne | last= Von Drachenfels | date = 8 November 2000 | title = The Art of the Table: A Complete Guide to Table Setting, Table Manners, and Tableware | publisher = Simon and Schuster | pages = 81–95 | isbn = 978-0-684-84732-0 | chapter = Plates: Piece by piece | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d6xaJWJFe1QC&pg=PA81HTTPS://BOOKS.GOOGLE.COM/BOOKS}}
*The Bradford Book of Collector's Plates 1987, Brian J. Taylor, Chicago, IL

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SN:18949/700002376186

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[[Category:Kitchenware]]
[[Category:Tableware]]