Revolution in Taste

On view in the Henry H. Weldon Gallery

As the 18th century progressed, British citizens both at home and in the colonies increasingly had access to a world-wide trade in exotic, fashionable, and useful goods. Revolution in Taste explores the objects and evolving social customs that became part of daily life for the expanding middle and upper classes.

Made of ceramic, glass, and metal, items like coffee cups, teaspoons, and dinner plates offered stylish and exciting new forms, improved materials, and dazzling colors. Elegant dining, tea drinking, and the consumption of alcoholic beverages became the focus of social life in early America, leading a revolution in taste that is still underway even today.