Zanzibar plates have been in the East African region since the second half of the 19th century Searches in the antique shops of Zanzibar, Mombasa. Dar es Salaam, and Nairobi will be repaid with these colourful plates and bowls. They are not works of fine art, and do not pretend to the refinement and beauty of Chinese porcelain. In fact, they are neither plates nor made in Zanzibar, most are dishes. And they were made principally in Holland, England, Germany, and France, with lesser contributions from countries such as Belgium and Japan. Porcelain and ceramics have been an East African import for many centuries. The earliest were not Zanzibar plates, but were from Persia and then from China; both of these preceded Zanzibar plates by hundreds of years. This book explores the cultural significance of these early imports and that of their replacements, the so-called Zanzibar plates out of Europe. Though these latter plates were low-cost utilitarian ware in the local European market, they were transformed in usage, value, and design upon interacting with the people of the Indian Ocean Sittoral. Though they were originally ceramic designs for peasants in northern climates, they ended up being commissioned by kings and sultans in warmer lands-and becoming an integral part of Swahili culture.