Forty years ago I purchased some Chinese bowls and rice bowls in Chinatown, San Francisco. They are beautiful and they were inexpensive. Over the years they have served nuts, crackers and other appetizers. They other day I had the epiphany: Are these dishes safe?
http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/answered-questions/lead-stoneware-and-crystal-–-harmful
I would get rid of any dishes flat look too ornate to be used for anything other than decorative purposes. If you served nuts and dry foods, that was most likely ok as long as the paint or glaze was not peeling off the dish into the food. Those dishes should not be used for moist snack food like dips because lead can leach out into liquids coming into contact with lead-containing material.
You can buy a test kit to check for lead.
Agree that if you stick with DRY things and no liquids it should be safe but not to put anything with acid (e.g. Vinegar). In HI, lots of folks have dishes that MAY have lead glazes from China – folks just keep them dry. If you are in doubt, donate them.
They are quite ornate. One or two have chipped over the years…but there is gold, greens, reds, ochre, blues…all colors. Not sure but I guess that I will only do dry stuff and line the bowls with cheese leaves or doilies.