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Bordallo Pinheiro's cabbage collection has a funny effect on people: nobody buys just one piece. It starts with a small side plate or an egg cup, and a year later there's a charger, a tureen, and a cake stand that only comes out for special occasions. It's one of the most collected ranges we carry at Villarosa — hand-finished in Portugal, and instantly recognisable by its sculpted leaf-and-vein texture, based on the actual cabbages Rafael Bordallo Pinheiro grew and drew in the 1880s.
If you're just discovering the range, or you've got one piece and are wondering where to go next, here's how the collection actually works and which pieces are worth building toward.
Most cabbage ware comes in two finishes: the original creamy natural glaze, and a warmer beige. They're designed to sit together on the same table rather than as separate ranges, so you don't need to commit to one — plenty of our customers mix both, using beige for everyday pieces and natural for the larger showpieces. Worth knowing before you start buying, since matching pieces across the two tones is part of the fun rather than a mistake to avoid.
The Cabbage Leaf Bowl ($29.95) is the most affordable entry point and a genuinely useful little dish for condiments, olives, or a pinch bowl by the stove. From there, most people move to a 19cm side plate ($44.95 natural, $49.95 beige) or a 12cm bowl ($36.95) — both small enough to buy on a whim, both a genuine taste of what makes the range worth collecting.
If you want something with a bit more personality straight away, the Cabbage Egg Cup ($69.95) is one of our most-gifted pieces — small, funny, and a lovely way to introduce someone to the brand without committing them to a full dinner set.
Once the smaller pieces are in the cupboard, the natural next step is a proper dinner plate. The 26.5cm Dinner Plate ($67.95 natural, $59.95 beige) is where most people say the collection "starts to feel real" — generous enough for actual meals, not just decoration. Pair it with the matching bowl sizes and you've quietly built a full place setting without ever making a single big-ticket purchase.
This is where the range gets genuinely special, and where a lot of our customers end up after a year or two of collecting the smaller pieces. The 30.5cm Charger Plate ($119.95–$137.95) sits under a dinner plate for a layered table setting that looks considerably more expensive than it is. The Oval Platter (from $154.50, up to 43cm for $219.95) is built for roasts and shared mains, and does double duty as a striking centrepiece even when it's empty.
For genuine occasion pieces, the Cabbage Tureen ($139.95–$149.95), the Sauceboat ($109.95), the Milk Jug ($117.50) and the Olive Dish ($139.95) are the pieces people bring out for Christmas lunch or a proper dinner party — sculptural enough to be the thing guests comment on, practical enough to actually use rather than just display.
And if you want a genuine statement piece, the Cabbage Cake Stand ($209.95–$227.99) and the 34cm Salad Bowl ($293.95) are as close as tableware gets to a piece of art — the kind of thing that anchors a table on its own.
Because each piece is hand-finished at the original Bordallo Pinheiro factory in Caldas da Rainha, quantities are limited and pieces sell in ones and twos rather than restocking in bulk — several of the larger showpieces above are currently down to a single unit. If there's a piece you've been circling, it's worth not waiting too long on it; we can't always say when (or if) a particular size comes back.
Villarosa Maison in Nelson is one of very few dedicated Bordallo Pinheiro stockists in New Zealand, and we ship the full cabbage ware range throughout the country. Browse everything currently available in our Bordallo Pinheiro collection, or read the full brand story in our complete buyer's guide.
