Set of four miniature second course dishes 1715 - 1735

Curator: This work is titled "Set of four miniature second course dishes," dating back to 1715-1735. They are on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. What strikes you first about them? Editor: Their starkness, actually. The reflective silver surface, the almost industrial simplicity of the circles. Curator: "Industrial" is a curious word to use for baroque-era silver. Editor: Well, the repetition, the seriality—it anticipates mass production, perhaps? Silver, after all, holds cultural weight in terms of wealth and luxury. The fact they are scaled down perhaps diminishes that a little. Curator: Precisely! Think of the culture of collecting miniatures, how these were symbols of refinement, skill and control of the world in small form. Consider a grand baroque table setting rendered for a dollhouse. Editor: Yes, there is this strangeness. The shine is so pronounced. It throws the simplicity and bareness into sharp relief, and given their size they come across as quite austere, almost minimalist despite the period associations. Curator: Austerity was woven into social ideals, reflecting a well-ordered life through material restraint. It represents control, order and virtue but scaled down, made quaint, like the aesthetic became something for a child's toys. Editor: A curated emptiness... Interesting how the patina softens what could have been cold. This aging adds an elegance I wouldn't have anticipated at first glance. Curator: I agree. Through age, they connect to something far deeper than just ornamentation. It’s an intersection of wealth, power, taste, domesticity and fleeting moments in time. Editor: Precisely. Seeing how tastes have changed also gives me a better idea of cultural history and perception as well. Thanks! Curator: Yes. They serve as potent reflections on ourselves, if only we view them closely enough.