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8. Dining Room
Transcript
Dinner parties here at Hyde Park were much more exclusive and casual than those held in New York City by societal elites, which routinely numbered in the hundreds and occasionally included over a thousand people in one residence. The meals served in this room during a dinner party were fine French cuisine, prepared by a French chef. A formal Gilded Age dinner would include seven to twelve courses, including a different French wine with every course. This room contains many objects and pieces of furniture originally from Europe and Asia, including the ceiling, the Persian carpet, the fireplaces, and orreries on each end of the room. An orrery is a mechanical model of the motions of the solar system. Orreries can be used to demonstrate phenomena such as day and night, the seasons, lunar phases, and eclipses. Mr. Vanderbilt was fond of the sciences and these items from the 1760s showcase that interest. Leaving the dining room, you’ll see one of three cassoni on this floor. This is not a coffin, but an Italian Wedding chest, which could be described as a dowry chest. They served no function for the Vanderbilts other than as art and decoration.
Description
When the Vanderbilts were at Hyde Park, the Dining Room was one of the more utilized rooms inside their mansion. It is one of the largest rooms in the house and mirrors the Living Room in size and shape. It would be one of the focal points for an evening’s gathering. Fine dining was a regular occurrence, along with more casual affairs depending on the number and type of guests. Based on the size of the table and its seating capacity, it’s assumed the largest gatherings were around eighteen people.
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