Return of the dinner service as Christie’s expert claims mix and match trend is fuelling sales frenzy
They were once the staple of every dining room and wedding list worth its salt, before falling out of fashion to be replaced by Ikea at one end and in-house caterers at the other.
The full dinner service is experiencing something of a revival, according to auctioneers, after a new generation embraced the trend of mix and match crockery.
Specialists at Christie’s said they had noticed a fresh interest in 18th, 19th and early 20th century dining services, with the shoppers of 2018 discarding previous concerns about a missing plate or cup here and there to snap up the striking patterns.
Recent sales, they said, had seen services soar above their estimates, with major existing and news clients already flocking to register interest in the 67 dinner sets for sale in its forthcoming Rockefeller auction.
Jonathan Rendell, deputy chairman of Christie’s Americas, said the interest reflected the “end of minimalism” as younger buyers sought out “grand, slightly eccentric” tablewear to reflect their personality.
Jody Wilkie, co-chairman of decorative arts, said a trend for mixing plates of different colours and patterns had also boosted a modern fascination in services, with buyers no longer so worried about pieces of centuries’-old sets being missing.
“It’s sort of extraordinary,” said Rendell
“The bland caterer’s china doesn’t do any more. People want something that expresses your view rather than what your interior designer thinks you should have or what the caterer has provided: some boring white plate.
“It’s the end of minimalism. I think that’s a new trend.
“I think people want to express their individuality, they want to have their own style when they’re entertaining. It’s back to dinner party world.”
Wilkie pointed out that the number of people requiring a full service for 40 is now much smaller than in years gone by, adding modern buyers are much more willing to buy dinner services with the intention of “mixing and matching ” them.
“With the kind of services you can find at auction that date from the 18th, 19th, early 20th century, you’re not necessaraily buying the complete set,” she said.
“You could easily be buying part of the service.
“I think when it was our parents and grandparents’ generation, everything had to be identical.
“Now, people are not afraid to mix and match and just incorporate different things.
“ People will serve dinner on white plates and serve dessert on something old that has more colour in it.
“Even mix different patters on the same table during the same course, just having fun with it.
“They’re not afraid to incorporate different things into a service.”
The Rockefeller sale, which will see proceeds given to charity, includes a remarkable 67 dining services, all used by the family in their various homes.
They include a red and gold, 28-piece service made for Napoleon, offered at an estimate of up to £250,000.
Other sets, in a wide range of botanical patterns and colours, are offered at estimates between £800 and £300,000.
Recent auction successes for Christie’s include, in November, a bird-patterned part table service estimated at £5-8,000 sold for £21,250, while in January a 20th century black and gold printed incomplete set from the collection of Sir David and Lady Tang went from an estimate of £4-6,000 to £20,000.
More than 1,500 items from the extraordinary collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller will be sold at Christie’s New York from May 8, expected to become the most expensive single sale in history with an estimate of £358m.
