Discover a Centrepiece in Papier Mâché

This papier mâché centrepiece is a shallow, wide dish meant to be seen from above, which is the opposite of how most decorative objects are designed. Laid on a dining table, a coffee table or a hallway console, it gives a surface a defined middle without adding height, so conversation across a table is never interrupted. The 29 cm diameter is generous enough to hold fruit, keys or folded napkins, and the low profile keeps it from reading as clutter on a busy surface.

Made from papier mâché, each piece is unique with its own tones because of the nature of the material. Paper takes finish unevenly, so the beige shifts subtly across the dish and no two examples are identical. That is what separates a handmade decorative plate from a moulded ceramic one: the small irregularities are legible at close range and give the object its warmth on an otherwise bare table.

Styling a Low Dish on a Table

A wide shallow form works hardest when it stays mostly empty. Try three objects at most, varied in height, or leave the centrepiece bare so the material does the work; a full dish loses the sweep of its rim. On a dining table it also acts as a landing spot for bread, fruit or a candle group; on a hallway console it collects keys and post without a tray looking like storage. Off-centre placement usually beats dead centre on a long table.

Because the piece is papier mâché, keep it dry. Do not serve unwrapped food directly on it, do not wash it, and wipe any spill immediately with a dry cloth rather than a damp one. Dust with a soft brush. Grouped with the taller vases in the same natural materials family, this low decorative dish supplies the horizontal note that a shelf or table arrangement of upright objects usually lacks.