Double-handled Footed Tray c. 1785

Johann Friedrich Seybold created this double-handled footed tray out of pewter sometime between 1760 and 1785. Seybold was working during an era when social status dictated the materials you used in your household. Pewter, while functional, was a far cry from the silver and gold of the aristocracy, marking a distinct class boundary in 18th-century society. The tray, with its elegant handles and feet, attempts to mimic the grandeur of the elite, yet its material firmly places it within the aspirations, rather than the achievements, of middle-class life. The act of serving, historically gendered, adds another layer. Who was doing the serving? What did it mean to present food or drink on a tray that signaled a specific social standing? This tray is not merely an object; it's a silent participant in the theater of social mobility, laden with the unspoken hopes and quiet longings of its time.