WE THE PEOPLE
THE M-TEAM
{ A PARTIAL CROSS-SECTION }
Terry Brock , Senior Research Archaeologist
Lauren Kraut Squier , Collections Associate
Setting the Table
To understand what a typical dinner in James and Dolley ’ s dining room would have been like , archaeologists examined materials recovered from across the property in deposits dating to the years of Madison ’ s retirement , particularly a trash pit nicknamed “ Dolley ’ s Midden ” because it contained thousands of artifacts that came directly from the Madisons ’ dining room between 1817 and 1836 .
From these artifacts we know that Dolley ’ s table was most frequently set with fashionable blue and white stoneware manufactured by the Davenport Pottery in Staffordshire , England , and decorated with a transfer-printed design called “ Bamboo and Peony .”
Pieces of nearly 50 different “ Bamboo and Peony ” vessels , of the nearly 300 hundred the Madisons would have owned , including dinner , soup , and side plates , serving platters , lidded tureens , a footed serving vessel , and a pitcher have been excavated and mended back together in the Archaeology Lab .
Where Madison originals are unavailable or broken , as are the archaeological finds , the curatorial department finds replacement pieces from the same period . To determine their placement on the table , they turn to period images of table services and guides such as Robert Roberts ’ House Servant ’ s Directory , which gives specific instructions on laying a dinner service for 10 .
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