The Well-Set Table in France

OverviewThe Gauls sat on hay (or maybe dog skins) to eat; the Romans lay on couches; the Franks preferred benches and stools. For a long time, lighting came from candles and torches. Dishes could be made of metal, marble, glass, porcelain, earthenware, and other materials. Silver and gold were used not only for platters but sometimes even for tables. The eighteenth century writer Le Grand d'Aussy takes a sweeping look at the furniture and furnishings used for meals over hundreds of years in France. In the process, he highlights some key developments in French industry: the introduction of faience, the development of what became the famous porcelain of Svres. He ends his account with a glittering inventory of one medieval king's collection of objects in silver and gold.This new translation makes yet another portion of Le Grand's monumental work on food history available to English-speakers and provides ample insight for food historians, lovers of fine antiques and students of industry alike.