The decorative arts – fine furniture, jewelry, ceramics, and glass – are all around us and in the Museum. FODA expands understanding of their variety and beauty. Plus, you will make new friends at the meetings. Annual dues are $50 in addition to a minimum of a Dual Level Museum membership.

FODA programs are held on the second Tuesday of the month at 2 pm during season. Non-FODA members can attend for $5, plus MFA admission.

During the first decades of the 1800s in the rural South sugar–processed sugar–was such an expensive and desirable commodity that specific forms of furniture evolved for its storage. Despite their relatively simple and somewhat folky appearance, these pieces marked their owner’s wealth and sophistication. This talk by Dr. Stanton Thomas will look at the most common of these forms, the sugar chest, as well as its rarer cousins: sugar desks, sugar tables, and sugar sideboards.

Image Credit:

Unknown Maker, Sugar Chest, c. 1830, Cherry with poplar secondary, private collection