Majolica Oyster Plates

Minton majolica six well malachite oyster plate

In the past twelve years I have written previously about a number of different majolica oyster plates. I've done posts on Minton's oyster plates, Wedgwood's oyster plates and the Boteler oyster plate. I have never, however, written about the general variety of oyster plates available to the collector. I think it's time to correct that oversight.

Oysters have been consumed by humans for millennia. Since human learned to crack open the shells of the bountiful mollusk, they have been consumed both raw and cooked.

5th century floor mosaic of a Roman dining room 

showing the consumption of seafood

Dishes with Oysters, Fruit, and Wine (1620) by Osias Beert

Until the middle of the middle of the 19th century, it was a food consumed largely by the working class who lived within reach of a fishing source. They were cheap, plentiful and easily harvested. Often sold on the streets of cities located around seaports, they were sold as snacks for the passerby.

A London oyster seller in 1865

This changed mid century thanks to technical advances in refrigeration and transportation that allowed them to be safely transported into inland urban areas where there was a demand for new gourmet foods to feed the burgeoning middle class.

Oysters were served traditionally on the half shell over ice. As formal dining became more popular a new method for serving them in this setting created demand for something particularly suited for that purpose. Hence the oyster plate is born.

The actual origin of the oyster plate remains murky. What is generally agreed upon is that the oyster plate was invented around the time of the coronation of Queen Victoria. By the 1860s they became a standard part of any dining service. The serving dish proved to be universally popular both in Europe and the United States. They even created special serving pieces specifically for oysters.

Tiffany sterling oyster serving spoon

Tiffany sterling oyster fork

In England the large potteries responded in kind. Minton led the way by creating the standard by which all future English majolica oyster plates would be compared. This was the six well oyster plate with an additional well for dipping sauce. These Minton plates came in a rainbow of colors and are a collecting form all to themselves.

Minton went on to create a variety of different designs along the same theme as well as multi tired rotating oyster servers.

English registration for Minton nine well oyster plate, 

dated March 26, 1867

Minton majolica nine well oyster plate

Mintons majolica four well oyster plate

Minton majolica crab and oyster server

Minton twelve well master oyster server

Minton majolica four tier revolving master oyster stand

Minton majolica five tier revolving master oyster stand

Of course where Minton walked, others followed. George Jones, a former Minton employee, created his own variety of oyster servers. This is a group highly sought after today.

George Jones majolica five well oyster plate

George Jones majolica six well oyster plate. 

George Jones majolica eight well oyster plate

George Jones majolica raised center oyster plate

George Jones Boteler four.well oyster plate

Patent application for the Boteler oyster plate design

George Jones majolica nine well tiered oyster server

Wedgwood entered the majolica market in 1860 creating some novel designs for their Aesthetic Movement inspired patterns.

Wedgwood Chrysanthemum majolica  six well oyster plate

Wedgwood Ocean majolica five well oyster plate

Wedgwood Dolphin majolica five well oyster plate

Wedgwood St. Louis majolica six well oyster plate

Wedgwood majolica Argenta five well St. Louis oyster plate 

Wedgwood Shells majolica five well oyster plate

Wedgwood Grosvenor majolica five well oyster plate

Wedgwood majolica five well oyster plate

Six well Wedgwood plate used for both oysters and escargot

Twelve well Wedgwood majolica plate used for both oysters and escargot

Four well Wedgwood majolica plate used for both oysters and escargot

Joseph Holdcroft potted three lovely oyster designs.

Holdcroft majolica four well oyster plate

Fielding created five oyster plates, one design inherited from the earlier incarnation of Fielding—Hackney & Company.

Hackney & Co. majolica five well oyster plate, 

a variation of the Minton six well design

Fielding version of the Hackney five well oyster plate

Fielding majolica five well oyster plate

Fielding majolica six well Fan oyster plate

Majolica six well oyster plate attributed to Fielding

Fielding majolica. oyster plate

Adams & Bromley created five memorable oyster dishes.

Adams & Bromley majolica fish six well oyster plate

Adams & Bromley eight well oyster plate

Twelve well master oyster server attributed to Adams & Bromley

Brown-Westhead Moore made a particularly beautiful oyster plate, similar to Minton’s but more elegant in design.

BWM majolica oyster plate

Copeland made a couple of different designs.

The Victoria Pottery Company made an oyster plate design based on the Minton six well model. After founder Robert Leason left the company in 1883, the design was continued by Forester, who bought the pottery.

Unheralded English companies made oyster plates as well.

Unattributed majolica oyster plate in the Minton fashion

Unattributed majolica oyster plate

In France and Belgium, oysters were possibly more popular than anywhere else. While the vast majority of French oyster plates were made of porcelain in the Limoges part of France, the majolica manufacturers made plates as well. Sarreguemines, as well as other manufacturers, made oyster plates in the 19th century with some continuing well into the mid 20th century. These plates served double duty for escargot, which is also popular in the region.

Sarreguemines six well majolica oyster plate

Sarreguemines majolica twelve well master oyster server

Sarreguemines majolica oyster basket

Choisy-le-Roi made them as did Luneville.

Choisy-le-Roi majolica oyster plate

Choisy-le-Roi majolica oyster plate

Choisy-le-Roi majolica oyster plate

Luneville majolica oyster plate

Wasmuël in Belgium made several unique designs, some that recall the English Wedgwood designs.

Wasmuël majolica oyster plate

Wasmuël majolica oyster plate

Wasmuël majolica oyster plate

Onnaing made oyster plates as did Orchies, Salins and others.

Onnaing majolica fish head oyster plate

Orchies majolica oyster plate

Orchies majolica six well oyster plate

Orchies majolica twelve well oyster plate

Salins majolica oyster plate

Salins majolica oyster plate

Digoin majolica oyster plate

Fives-Lille majolica oyster plate

Fives-Lille majolica oyster server

French Russian Imperial form majolica oyster plate

St. Clement majolica oyster plate

St. Clement majolica oyster plate

St. Clement 20th century six well oyster plate

St. Clement 20th century twelve well oyster server

Longshamp majolica oyster plate

Longchamp majolica three well oyster plate

Longchamp majolica master oyster server

Clairfontaine oyster plate, an interpretation of a Holdcroft design

Thomas Sergent majolica oyster plate

Unattributed French oyster plate

As mentioned earlier, some of these French companies, particularly Vallauris, made oyster plates well into the 20th century. That adds a bit of confusion for the collector of strictly Victorian majolica oyster plates. Some of the designs shown here are among those that continued production long after the era of Victorian majolica production ended, and it's often difficult to tell the age of the plates without looking at the mark on the reverse. Compare the Sarreguemines oyster plate below from the first half of the 20th century to the more colorful 19th century one shown elsewhere in this post.

20th century Sarreguemines oyster plate

Printed mark on the reverse of the Sarreguemines oyster plate directly above. 

Nineteenth century versions of this plate have an impressed mark.

For the dedicated oyster plate collector however, this shouldn't make much of a difference because it is the variety and not the age that adds value to their collections. This shouldn't be confused with those pieces made today that copy designs to deceive the buyer; the Fives-Lille oyster plate and oyster server above have seen significant copying. These reproductions are thickly manufactured and bear glazes more brash than the Fives-Lille plates shown.

Other countries made majolica oyster plates as well. 

In the United States the Etruscan Works made a majolica plate that recalls that of the Union Porcelain Works.

Etruscan Majolica oyster plate

In Sweden Rörstrand made an oyster plate.

Rörstrand majolica oyster plate

There are a few Palissy type oyster plates that I’m familiar with. The one that uses the fish head theme comes in several forms. It comes in six well and twelve well sizes. There is also a four tiered oyster server in a more traditional form and a handled oyster plate in the Boteler style.

Palissy majolica Boteler oyster plate

Palissy majolica tiered oyster server

Julius Dressler in Bohemia made a pretty flower form oyster plate.

Julius Dressler majolica oyster plate

From turn of the century Austria we have an oyster plate in a distinctly modern style.

Austrian majolica oyster plate from the first quarter of the Twentieth century

Of course, there are many others—too many to include here—but I hope I've given an idea of the diversity available to the oyster plate collector. Do keep alert however, because the high cost that many of these command has created a brisk reproduction market that has saturated the secondary market. Some of these reproductions are pointed out in my other blog posts dedicated specifically to reproduction majolica. The best advice I can give you is to study the oyster plate market before you invest, and to buy from a reputable dealer.