Timeline of the Table

During the past 500 years of dining history represented in Feeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500–2005, the basic forms of the table setting have changed to reflect shifting modes of behavior and cultural preferences. From the traveling flatware of the Renaissance to the extravagant silver tableware of America's Gilded Age to the pared-down elegance of modernism, each of the utensils on view provides a fascinating glimpse into the culinary culture of its period.

The timelines above trace the evolution of the three primary components of the contemporary Western place setting: the knife, the fork, and the spoon. Each example represents not only a moment in the respective utensil's history, but relates to one of the exhibition's sub-themes, deepening a contextual understanding of the relationships between design and the universal practice of dining.