Tabletop Treasures

A set of 29 gods and goddesses was ordered by Edward Lloyd
IV for his dining table at Wye House, near Easton, Md., in
1792. The eight surviving figures have been conserved
especially for this exhibition and are displayed for the
first time outside of Wye House. The use of the figures
assumed the classical education of the owner and his dinner
guests and might have served to inspire clever
conversation.
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Taste and Table, opening Thursday at historic
Homewood House, explores the types of ceramics used by
the home's founding family, the Carrolls, during their
1801-1832 residency there. The exhibit also includes
important objects owned by other prominent Maryland
families, including pieces from each of the state's four
signers of the Declaration of Independence (Carroll, Paca,
Chase and Stone) through loans from the Baltimore Museum of
Art, Historic Annapolis Foundation, Londontown Foundation
and numerous private collections.
In addition to objects in display cases, decorative and
useful ceramic items will be shown throughout the house
with interpretive labels indicating how they would have
been used in such a grand Federal-period dwelling.
A Ceramics Discovery Day on Oct. 14 will feature
presentations by the exhibition's co-curator, Diana Edwards
Murnaghan, and object identification and evaluation by
Letitia Roberts, formerly of Sotheby's New York and The
Antiques Roadshow.
For details about the opening-night reception and the
exhibit's ongoing hours and fees, see
Special Events.
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