What is a centrepiece bowl used for?

These vessels were historically placed in the middle of dining tables to hold displays of fruit, flowers, or sweetmeats during formal meals. They functioned as grand decorative centrepieces that demonstrated the host's taste and means. Today, they serve equally well as standalone decorative objects on sideboards or coffee tables, or as functional bowls for holding fruit in a modern kitchen or dining room.

How do I identify a Sèvres style bowl?

Sèvres style pieces typically feature rich coloured grounds such as deep blue or turquoise, combined with heavy gilt scrolling and hand-painted pastoral or exotic bird scenes. They often mimic the distinctive eighteenth-century French royal factory aesthetics. Many nineteenth-century continental potteries produced wares in this manner, sometimes bearing pseudo-marks that pay homage to the original French establishment rather than indicating direct manufacture there.

Are Japanese Imari bowls antique?

Many Japanese Imari bowls found in the West date from the Meiji period in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when export trade flourished. These pieces are characterised by their iron red, dark blue, and gilt coloration. Earlier eighteenth-century examples exist, but the majority of decorative market pieces stem from this later Victorian and Edwardian era of increased international exchange.