Guests at a feast would often eat their banquet (sweet course at the end of a meal) from a plate made of sugar paste.

Sugar was pounded up until it looked like icing sugar, and then mixed with egg white.

The paste was moulded on the back of a plate.

It was left to dry, and then removed from the plate and decorated with intricate designs.

A separate decoration was done for each guest.

Sometimes a few words or the lines of a poem or sonnet were painted on too.

Guests could break their plate up and eat it if they were still peckish at the end of a meal!