What is the difference between a charger and a meat plate?

A charger is round and unusually large, made for display or for serving at scale. A meat plate is normally oval or rectangular, shaped for a joint. Both appear in the listings, but the meat plate is the commonest named form, and chargers cluster in the upper half of the range.

Which patterns show up on blue and white serving plates?

Named patterns recorded in titles include Classical Ruins, Bridge of Lucano, Buffalo, Lovick's, Gorhambury, Cathedral Church Glasgow, Chinese Garden and Old School House. A named pattern sits above an unnamed one in the range. Plain 19th-century blue and white meat plates occupy the bottom.

How old are these dishes?

The dated field spans 1750 to 1920. Only seventeen listings carry a clean year, and the rest use era labels such as 19th Century, 1900s, 18th Century or Georgian. One entry falls before 1700: a pewter plate given as circa 1690, the earliest piece in the samples.

Are Imari serving dishes always round?

No. Square, oval and shaped Imari plates all appear, along with chargers, and one plate made in the form of a fish. The shaped and oversized examples sit higher in the range than plain round ones. Most Imari entries are dated 1900.

Do serving dishes come in sets or singly?

Both. Singles are the norm, but pairs, a trio, a set of four dishes and a part dinner service all appear on Sellingantiques. Multiples rank above comparable singles. An armorial plate set said to come from a named service holds the top of the range.

Is anything in this category not ceramic?

Very little. Metal turns up three times across the samples: two English pewter plates, one triple-reeded and one with a coat of arms, and a pair of Indian silver-plate presentation serving bowls. Everything else is pottery or porcelain, including the small group of tin-glazed delft and faience chargers.

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Antique Serving Dishes

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Large flat or shallow dishes made to carry food to the table rather than to eat from: meat platters, dessert dishes, chargers and the stands that sat beneath tureens.