On six Wednesdays this fall,
Homewood House
will present "Repast as Ritual: The Objects of Entertaining
at Homewood House Museum," a series of lectures relating to
the art of dining in the Federal period.
What unusual entertaining customs were practiced in
the fledgling American republic? What types of objects did
Baltimore's prominent Carroll family, owners of Homewood
House, use on their dining table? Where did the objects
come from? How were they purchased? In the "Repast as
Ritual" lecture series, distinguished experts will examine
the spectacle of dining in the Federal period, with
particular focus on the social meanings and fashionable
forms of the silver, ceramic and glass objects in
Homewood's collections.
Lectures, to be held October 4, 11, 18 and 25 and on
Nov. 1 and 8, will begin at 2 p.m. and last approximately
90 minutes. The cost of the series is $146 ($124 for museum
members; $75 for students and museum volunteers); admission
to single lectures is $35 ($30 for members; $15 for
students and volunteers). Because seating is limited,
pre-paid registration is required. For more information,
call 410-516-5589, e-mail
homewoodhouse@jhu.edu or go to
www.jhu.edu/historichouses.
The schedule is as follows:
Oct. 4: Barbara Carson explores the art of
dining and socializing customs in the new republic in her
talk, "Strange Customs Prevail: Entertaining at Home in the
Early National Period." Carson is the author of Ambitious
Appetites: Dining, Behavior and Patterns of Consumption in
Federal Washington and former professor of material culture
at the College of William and Mary.
Oct. 11: Catherine Rogers Arthur, curator of
Homewood House, discusses the museum's English, French and
Chinese ceramics collections, some of which are known to
have a Carroll family provenance and others that were owned
by related and contemporary families.
Oct. 18: Edward Papenfuse, Maryland state
archivist, offers a fascinating account of how objects for
food and dining were ordered from agents in London. The
author of In Pursuit of Profit: The Annapolis Merchants in
the Era of the American Revolution, 1763-1805, Papenfuse
teaches courses at Johns Hopkins and the University of
Maryland Law School.
Oct. 25: Mark Letzer, regional silver scholar
and curator of the Maryland Historical Society's exhibition
on Annapolis silversmith William Faris, considers the
relationship of Homewood's silver collection to pieces
known to have been used by the Carrolls.
Nov. 1: Amanda Lange, curator of historic
interiors at Historic Deerfield and curator of the special
exhibition "The Canton Connection: Art and Commerce of the
China Trade 1784-1860," discusses the tableware and
specialty glass in Homewood's collections.
Nov. 8: Robin Emmerson, author of British
Teapots and Tea Drinking 1700-1850, provides insights into
tea-drinking rituals. Emmerson is head of decorative arts
at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, England.
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