Art of the Table

EATING YOUR GREENS takes on new meaning at Hermès, which has just launched a new tableware collection that looks as if a tropical forest just took root on your dining table.

A profusion of leaves on a presentation plate looks so vivid and real you're afraid that they will float away if you blow at them. A leaf and flower-covered teapot seems to reveal what's brewing inside of it. But the glowing luminosity of Limoges porcelain belies the effort behind the vivid drawings and hues derived from a palette of more than 32 colours, and the 2,000 hours required to create this exquisite ode to nature.

Hermès' Passifolia table setting is a Garden of Eden-inspired range by designer Nathalie Rolland-Huckel, and marks her third collection for the luxury house.