Can I use antique plates for everyday hot meals?

You can use most stoneware and porcelain pieces for daily dining. They were designed for hot food and handle modern temperatures well. Earthenware is more delicate. The glaze often develops micro-cracks over time, allowing moisture to seep into the porous clay body underneath if submerged. Hand wash them quickly rather than soaking.

My grandmother left me a massive set of transferware plates with matching serving bowls, and I am wondering if the brown staining in the crazing is possible to wash out safely?

That brown staining is trapped organic matter. Moisture and food juices seep through the fine cracks in the glaze over decades of use. Standard washing up liquid will not remove it. Some restorers use weak peroxide solutions to bleach the stains from the inside out, but this risks damaging the underlying ceramic body if left too long.

What are the little rough bumps underneath?

Those are stilt marks. They occur when the plate is raised on small pins inside the kiln. Potters used these supports to stop the wet glaze sticking to the kiln shelf during firing.

I have noticed that a lot of old meat platters have a recess or a sort of well at one end, what was the actual purpose of that design?

That feature is known as a tree-and-well design. The platter sits at a slight angle, or the ceramic itself is moulded with a gradient. When a large roast was carved at the table, the hot juices ran down the grooves into the recessed well. This kept the meat from sitting in liquid and made it much easier to spoon the juices over the plated food. Metal platters often have similar channels chased into the surface for the exact same reason.

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Antique Dishes in North East & Yorks

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An antique dish is a shallow, broad vessel crafted from ceramics, metal, or glass, originally designed to serve, hold, or present food at the dining table.