I have a beautiful old china soup tureen that has been in my family for over a hundred years. It is a beautiful heirloom and something that I really treasure, unfortunately I just don't have that many occasions to use it. I have a husband and three small kids and serving soup out of china just doesn't make sense. I only went to visit her a few times as a kid. My mom does not get along so well with her mom so we tended to avoid the dusty old mansion.

published her own novella, and has other literary projects currently in progress. Sara’s varied interests have also led But on the few occasions we did visit I will never forget the amazingly formal meals that we were served. My grandmother would sit at the head of this huge table and preside over the meal like a queen. See 'Les Eléments de datation des Porcelaines de Vincennes avant 1753', The French Porcelain Society, Vol. II, 1986, p. 1-7. For this reason I have gotten into the habit of making a soup as a first course at Thanksgiving dinner. We usually have a big crowd and at the beginning of the meal this beautiful tureen is the centerpiece of the table. After that we replace it with the turkey. It may only be once a year, but I am glad to have some opportunity to use this beautiful tureen.I love this family style approach to serving soup. If you want a little you can have a little and if you want a lot you could eat a whole tureen by yourself. And if you have several on one table the steamy aromas mix together into delicious combinations. God, just writing about makes me want to grab my boyfriend and head down there right now. For other uses, see Tureen (disambiguation). A Sèvres soup tureen and tray. Sèvres porcelain, National Gallery of Victoria, Australia Silver-gilt tureen, Paris, 1769–70 An Émile Gallé (1846–1904) tureen During the mid-eighteenth century, tureens in appropriate naturalistic shapes, such as tureens in the form of a head of cabbage, were popular. The Chelsea porcelain manufactory produced tureens in the form of rabbits: a Chelsea sale catalogue of 1755 advertised a "Fine tureen in the form of a rabbit as big as life." [3] Écuelles and saucières [ edit ] Écuelle and stand, Sèvres porcelain, 1776

But I don't want it to just sit in the cupboard and collect dust. I think that treasured family objects should be used rather than just displayed. I think it keeps them alive.

Tureens are most practical for serving about six people. In eighteenth-century France, a small individual covered standing bowl on a small platter, essentially an individual tureen, was called an écuelle (also anglicised to ecuelle). It could be lifted by its twin handles and drunk from directly. The shape was used for other purposes; it is often found in toilet services, where its purpose is uncertain. Its modern descendant in tableware is the two-handled cream soup bowl on matching plate. A small covered dish for sauce, called a saucière, could also take the form of a small tureen; it might be integral with its platter ( illustration right), for ease in handling and to contain drips. [4] [ failed verification] During 18th Century France, the tureen was known as the écuelle. Rather than being accompanied by a ladle or spoon, the écuelle was simply tipped like a two-handled cup for drinking. Smaller tureens used for sauces were called saucières.