Tea Table

Dateca. 1765

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

MediumMahogany

DimensionsOH: 29"; OW: 34 1/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1930-194

DescriptionTea table: round dished top braced underneath by two paralled strips screwed to underside between which flat top of swivelling bird cage is pinned at one end. Original lock on underside of top and catch on side of bird cage top secure top in horizontal position. Four vase and ring-turned balusters in bird-cage; top of pedestal dowelled through its base and into its top. Pedestal vase and ring turned; three cabriole legs dovetailed into base of shaft end in well-articulated oval ball and claw feet.Label TextDescribed in a Philadelphia price book of 1772 as "plain Tea Table with Claw feet," this piece would have cost £3.15.0 in mahogany and £2.5.0 in walnut. A more ornate example carved with "leaves on the knees" and "Scallop'd Top & Carv'd Pillar" could have been purchased for £5.15.0 in 1786. Large Philadelphia cabinet shops like those of Benjamin Randolph and Thomas Affleck often employed London-trained carvers to ornament their furniture. Those craftsmen carved architectural woodwork, door and window surrounds, and fireplace overmantels in addition to furniture.

The table top tilts up for compact storage in a corner or against a wall.Mark(s)None found.