TABLE SETTINGS
3 Oct 1955 – Ongoing
Discover interiors featuring table settings from the 16th century to circa 1950: tables for banquets, coffee and tea parties, and tables for aperitifs and aquavit – all are on display in this exhibition.
Our exhibition highlights food and drink, customs and traditions pertaining to meals and the ways in which crockery, cutlery and drinking vessels have changed and developed.
Table settings from the 16th century to 1950
Take a look at a late 16th century dining table, a banquet table featuring confectionery from the late 17th century, a table laid for serving Swedish punch, a table for a special dinner and for a tea party from the 18th century, a breakfast table and one laid for serving aquavit in the 19th century. A 20th century coffee party table will also be on display.
Highlights
1. A stuffed swan as a showpiece
The table setting should be beautiful and impress from the 17th century, like here with a roasted swan in the middle of the table. Feather decoration was often used; they simply placed a new roast there.
2. Spirit bottle
Time for som Aquavit? Spirit bottle in glazed earthenware from Höganäs, Sweden, 1840.
3. Game bird showpiece on the table
Notice the refined dishes and table setting details from the history of gastronomy, such as the little dove inviting guests to a pâté feast in an exclusive home.