The table has been laid in festive style for six guests, but the complete 275-piece Meissen dinner service is large enough for 24 guests. Such larger receptions would be held in the gentlemen’s parlour, which boasted a larger table.
An ornamental centrepiece graces the middle of the table. A so-called ‘pièce de milieu’ such as this could be created using fresh flowers, fruits or sweet delicacies. The silverware, consisting of six candlesticks, two mounts and two chestnut vases, was a wedding gift to Louisa’s parents when they married in 1811.
