A Feast for the Eyes
Perhaps no other form of tender vegetation has proven as hardy and long-lasting as that of lettuce ware, a style of ceramics that took shape in 18th-century Europe. Rooted in the Rococo style and made possible thanks to innovations in European porcelain-making, these lettuce-like ceramics have been a perennial favorite in display cabinets and on dining tables for centuries.
A trade secret closely guarded by the Chinese, the exact nature of porcelain remained a mystery to Europeans until 1708, when a German alchemist cracked the code, leading to the establishment of Meissen, the first domestic porcelain factory in Europe. Soon after, other European ceramics factories
