Kilmarnock’s Oyster Plate Lady.
Photo by Michael Grayson
If necessity is the mother of invention, then we can all thank the jagged exterior of an oyster shell for the birth of one of the most exquisite expressions of china to grace any table.
Oyster plates, like so many of the decorative arts created during the Victorian era, are often bursting with opulent flourishes and color. Created by some of the world’s greatest ceramic artisans—Haviland of Limoges, Belleek of Ireland, and America’s own Wedgewood and Union Porcelain Works—the plates with five or six wells for oysters were designed to eliminate the need for piling the rough shells on delicate china.
For oyster plate collectors, Kilmarnock’s Antique Gallery is Mecca. The 22,000-square-foot space is home to the country’s largest oyster plate seller, the “Oyster Plate Lady.” It’s a title shared by gallery owners Steve and Lynn Bonner.
Photo by Michael Grayson
“Our collection started out about 20 years ago when I bought some plain off-white with gold accent plates because they would go with everything,” says Steve. “Our taste for the plates increased, and we began collecting more expensive and rare plates. People saw them and wanted them, so it just continued building.”
Prices for the plates range from the thousands of dollars to less than $100. The Bonners now have about 600 plates in their inventory for sale in the gallery and online. And although the couple has about 100 at home (a favorite is a Haviland copy of a presidential plate design), they are just for looking. “We don’t use them for actually eating oysters,” says Steve. “But I’m sure some people do.”
This article originally appeared in our Smoke & Salt 2018 issue, on newsstands now.
