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Anyone who has ever struggled to lay a dinner table, not sure whether
to put the side plate on the left or the right of the place setting,
or the dessert spoon above or below the dessert fork, will be able
to relate to the pressures faced by society hostesses from bygone
eras.
In former times, a dinner party was not so much an enjoyable occasion,
but more a military operation.
A new exhibition opening Saturday 14th June at the Coalport China
Museum, near Ironbridge, Shropshire will depict how food fashions,
technology and dining etiquette have changed from 1772 through to
1926 and influenced the shapes of tableware.
Visitors
to 聭Feast for the Eyes?聮 will learn that additives are
not just a 21st century concern but back in the 1800s we used to
add snail juice to milk to make it frothy and alum (like chalk)
to bread to make it whiter. Etiquette demanded that blancmange and
jelly could only be eaten with a fork and women were never supposed
to ask for wine!
Notable
advances in food production, such as the canning process which was
perfected in the Victorian period, and international influences
on food fashions will also be revealed. Like us the Victorians were
fond of curry, one of the many recipes in the 1888 Mrs Beeton聮s
was for curried Kangaroo Tails.
Two
period table settings will show dining customs from different walks
of life, one set with a high society desert service and the other
a working family聮s supper. Changing food fashions for all daily
meals will be portrayed with displays of Coalport China, Caughley
Porcelain and Salopian Art Pottery while amongst the more unusual
items will be a wine glass cooler known as a Monteith, Asparagus
Servers, Ice Pailes, Sorbet Cups and Chocolate Pots.
A range
of displays featuring period table settings will reflect the changes
in dining etiquette, tastes and social customs.
It will also illustrate the myriad courses, dozens of pieces of
silver, glass and unusual fine China that were required to create
the most impressive of social occasions.
Amongst
the more unusual pieces on display at Coalport will be a wine glass
cooler known as a Monteith, Asparagus Servers, Ice Pales, Sorbet
Cups and Chocolate Pots.
Younger visitors will also be catered for with a range of children聮s
activities from creating menus for a top level dinner party to designing
a centrepiece for a Victorian table.
Entry
to the exhibition is included in the cost of admission to Coalport
China Museum which is one of the ten Ironbridge Gorge Museums.
A Passport Ticket 聳 which also allows entry into all the museums
聳 costs 拢12.95 per adult, 拢8.25 per child/student,
拢40 per family and 拢11.25 for visitors aged 60 and above.
The Passport lasts indefinitely and visitors can return at any time
in the future to see sites they have missed.
Alternatively, single entry tickets into Coalport China Museum are
available. |
