Dinner plate with English arms (one of a group of four) 1715

Curator: Well, isn’t it just gleaming? My first thought looking at it: lunar, like capturing the moon in metal. Editor: Indeed. What you're looking at is a silver dinner plate dating back to 1715. Part of a set of four, it’s an example of Baroque decorative art, now residing here at the Metropolitan Museum. Notice the understated elegance. Curator: Understated but definitely making a statement. Silver wasn’t exactly everyday tableware, right? I can already imagine the candlelight dancing across it. Editor: Precisely. It reflects the social hierarchies of the time. Objects like these signaled wealth, taste, and a connection to the English aristocracy, subtly embedded through the inclusion of their coat of arms, ever so discrete on the upper rim. Curator: Coats of arms! Oh, that’s so delicious. Almost like a secret handshake with the elite. Imagine the stories it could tell, if only it could speak. The dishes served, the conversations overheard. Was this purely display or everyday fine dining? Editor: Probably both. Remember, the act of dining itself was a performance. The presentation of food, the service, and the tableware—all contributing to the social theater. Displaying your wealth wasn't just about possessions; it was about power. Silver signified status. Curator: So, this unassuming plate is loaded with symbolism. Makes me wonder what they actually ate off of it, what epicurean delights landed on it, then vanished...almost a metaphor for fleeting power! Editor: (Chuckles) A very poetic point! Perhaps even intentionally ephemeral; food consumed and status maintained. As a relic it gives us a palpable sense of those long gone dinners and political exchanges happening over it. Curator: Thinking of history compressed into something so… functional. Amazing. Now, if only my microwave dish had the same narrative punch. Editor: Agreed, sometimes it's the everyday objects that provide the most profound insights. It makes you appreciate the depth in the things we often overlook.