Identification.

After a year of beachcombing on Toronto Island and finding fragments from the same china pattern, I finally identified one of the patterns I'd been finding thanks to some google image searching: Royal Doulton "Elaine" from 1887.

A plate, a pitcher...while it is obvious that I have more than one piece from this set of china, I don't know if my sleuthing will take me as far as determining exactly which pieces.

And now comes the next question: what do I do with the pieces now that I've identified them? Is there a role to play for an intact piece of china with the same pattern, and if so, what? And as much as I want to present the solved mystery to an audience, I also want to be able to do it in such a way that it captures the uniqueness of each individual piece and the mystery of every find. How do I reconcile those two things?