Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts

The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) is a museum and research center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, focused on decorative arts of the early American South. Its scope centers on material culture from roughly the 17th through 19th centuries.

Exhibits include period furniture, silver, ceramics, textiles and decorative objects that illustrate craftsmanship and domestic life in the southern United States. The museum supports object study and interpretation for both general audiences and scholars, with galleries that change periodically.

Founded to collect, preserve and interpret southern decorative arts, the museum has developed both public exhibitions and scholarly resources devoted to the region’s material culture. Its collections have been used for teaching and research in southern history and design.

MESDA is located within the Old Salem historic district of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and is part of the broader Old Salem Museums & Gardens campus.

• Location tip: Located within the Old Salem historic district, often visited together with other Old Salem sites.
• Collections note: Holds both public exhibition galleries and a research component for scholars of southern material culture.

What to See #

• Galleries: Permanent galleries presenting furniture, silver, ceramics, textiles and other examples of southern decorative arts from the 17th to 19th centuries, used for study and display.
• Research Center: Research and conservation center housing a reference library and study collections for scholarship and object-based research.