Was there ever a time in history when hosts and hostesses did not worry about seating plans for dinner parties? It seems not. For centuries, the meals of royals, aristocrats, and state leaders have been an opportunity to showcase the power of the host, whether to simply underscore that nation’s wealth or to accomplish a particular political agenda. These lavish occasions have also been moments where conviviality could meet an undercurrent of fear. Sometimes rulers worried about the threats of poison, either from their own people or from guests.
Now Tables of Power, a new exhibition at the Louvre-Lens museum, an hour’s train ride from Paris, traces the role of dining in the agendas of the powerful from the ancient Near East to the present. It is part of a cycle of exhibitions planned by the museum’s director, Marie Lavandier, to examine major constants of everyday life from the perspectives of history, anthropology, and art history. The exhibition includes objects ranging from ancient Mesopotamian reliefs illustrating banquet scenes from 3000 BC, all the way to porcelain pieces from the Sèvres manufactory in the 18th century. There are also menus designed for dinners hosted by the French government for modern visitors, including Queen Elizabeth II and the late Duke of Edinburgh.
But whether it was the 300 silver vessels for royal meals described in the archives of ancient Mari or the use of fine Meissen and Sèvres porcelain in European banquets, the goal was to impress visiting dignitaries with the host’s power and extravagant wealth.
Excavating the CA archive: Monasteries of the high medieval period – Part 2