Consuming Splendor: Luxury Goods in England, 1580–1680 children's exhibition
This article collects the children's exhibition material featured in the Consuming Splendor: Luxury Goods in England, 1580-1680 exhibition.
A Trip to the First Mall
Between 1580 and 1680 in England, people were buying more and more luxury items, from porcelain bowls to pearls to lace to chocolate. Like the shopping malls of today, the Royal Exchange and the New Exchange in London were places people went to meet friends and see the latest fashions, as well as to shop.
Luxury Scavenger Hunt
This picture shows some luxury goods that were popular in England in 1647. How many different things can you find in this picture?
Now look at the chart of luxury items from seventeenth-century England.
chocolate | fur | jewels | marble | silk | tea |
coffee | glass | lace | paintings | silver | tobacco |
crystal | gloves | lacquered
furniture |
pearls | sugar | velvet |
fans | illustrated
books |
leather | porcelain | tapestries | watches |
- How many of these are still popular today?
- Do we still think of them as luxury goods?
- Can you find any of them in your home?