Philadelphia Antiques Show 2022

86 2 0 2 2 LOAN EXH I B I T Still life with Fruit, Cheese, Wine, Milk, Cakes and Peppermint Stick, c. 1850-70 Oil on canvas, 46½ x 54½ inches Courtesy of Olde Hope 1995 • THE COOK’S FANCIES “The collecting of culinaria , objects associated with the culinary arts, is by no means a recent development.” That statement in the 1995 catalogue helped curator WilliamWoys Weaver introduce the culture and craze around collecting works of art and cooking utility from 18th and 19th century America—also noting that the ancient Romans collected, recorded, and copied the culinaria of the ancient Greeks and Egyptians. Along with the tools for preparing, concocting, cooking, and baking, published treatises described how to present food and drink in increasingly elaborate silver, glass, porcelain, and earthenware vessels—and even adding more utensils. The display of food constituted a form of art and diners studied how to arrange tables with layers of food surrounding extravagant centerpieces. By the 1760s, long sideboard tables (later simply called sideboards) were placed along the walls of rooms of dining rooms and were intended for the display of dining accouterments as well as serving food. Still life paintings like this one represent a well-stocked, two-tiered sideboard. Luscious, ripe fruit overflows from a tall compote and is flanked by wheels of cheese, pies, pitchers of cream and peppermint punch, and carafes and syllabubs of brandy. Still life paintings of food such as this as well as assortments of game, meat, fish, and breads often decorated the walls of dining rooms, which themselves were rooms newly dedicated to dining.