Whether you are of the spiritual persuasion or subscribe to more scientific ways of thinking, we can all agree on a few truths: that the sea is a vast, exceptionally mysterious, fearsome force of nature, and that it is very, very old (about 3.8 billion years at last count). Plus, there’s that whole root-of-all-creation thing.
It’s the root of quite a lot of creativity, too. There’s nothing like the deep, dark unknown to really fire up the imagination. Aristotle had the good sense to document his aquatic observations, which were later expanded on—and effectively formalized into an actual field, marine biology—once British explorers started setting off around the world in the 18th and 19th centuries. Along the way, Renaissance botanist Luca Ghini came up with the brilliant idea of drying, pressing, and compiling plant specimens into collection books, a practice that eventually came to include underwater treasures, too. The herbarium served a valuable purpose for scientific study, of course, but it was also an excellent flex for the rich, who furnished their cabinets of curiosities with volumes of rare flora to signify their worldly status (and very deep pockets).
Consider this something of a modern—and more approachable—update on that concept. For its latest collection of tableware, Hermès turned to British illustrator Katie Scott to dream up a porcelain ode to marine life, focusing on the algae and seaweed and coral that have blanketed Earth’s oceans for millions of years, creating the blueprint for pretty much all plant life. It’s a lot to put on a plate .
Scott dove in—specifically, to the extensive herbarium archive at London’s Natural History Museum , one of the largest in the world. “I found it inspiring to try to see the plants as scientists do, to understand minute differences and identifying features,” she says. “Once you understand a plant or animal, it really helps you to be creative drawing it.”
Soy Dish
Bread & Butter Plate
Hollow Plate
Hollow Dish
Large Platter
Working with a palette of 30 variations of cool green, rich red, and sandy beige, Scott rendered the undulating translucence of seaweed and the fibrous intricacy of coral branches into the Natures Marines collection.
One hundred distinct plant specimens have been painted for the 34-piece set, a mini-herbarium of sorts that now joins an eclectic oeuvre that includes such Hermès classics as the iconic Mosaique au 24, plus cheeky nods to the maison’s equestrian heritage and exuberantly patterned sets. As with most great collections, a diversified portfolio is key, and for what it’s worth, seaweed isn’t just pretty to look at—it’s also good for you.
This story appears in the April 2026 issue of Town & Country. SUBSCRIBE NOW
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