Date of Award
2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Fine and Decorative Art and Design
Abstract
This dissertation explores the profound effect of material culture and rituals in elite British dining interiors during the long eighteenth-century. As spaces greatly influenced by the process of museumification, they are often perceived by contemporary and historical observers as settings intended for the ostentatious display of family lineage, taste and affluence. The dining rooms of British Georgian formal houses were highly curated proto museums with huge potential for display through architectural expressions, artworks and decorative objects, however, they were more importantly extremely complex environments that require complete analysis from multiple disciplines and perspectives.
In framing the intimate relationship between dining rituals, social practices and the domestic interior, this study seeks to move beyond solely aesthetic and symbolic readings of the country and town house dining rooms and considers how social customs along with cultural conventions also played a pivotal role in shaping their use and function within the elite domestic setting. By outlining the connection between form and practical function, this study highlights how these factors collectively contributed towards creating a dynamic social environment. With the public setting of the state dining room as the key area of focus and through close examinations of its spatial organisation, material culture along with popular dining rituals, this dissertation emphasises and concludes that the dining rooms served as more than a site for showcasing family prestige or the display of rare and exotic goods. It was most importantly a multifaceted space shaped by practices of genteel consumption, negotiation of gender roles, the construction of social identity and the performance of self. They were micro-environments truly capable of reflecting the spirit of Georgian Britain through the lens of aristocratic families.
Recommended Citation
Sun, Guoyang, "Debauchery and Decorative Art: Framing the Relationship Between Dining and Material Culture in British Country and Town House Dining Rooms During the Long 18th Century" (2026). MA in Fine and Decorative Art and Design Dissertations. 11.
https://digitalcommons.sia.edu/ma_fine_ad/11