Card table

1785-1800

Measurements

29-1/4 in x 35-3/4 in x 17-3/4 in

Materials

Mahogany; oak (swing rail), white cedar (frame)

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.

Accession Number

1971.581

Condition Notes

The right rear leg is slightly warped.

Provenance

Bequest of Dr. and Mrs. J. Newberry Reynolds to The David Wilson Mansion, Inc., in 1942.

Comments

This rectangular card table with a full-width drawer exhibits none of the curved lines that had been so important to most 18th century furniture design.  The edges of the folding top are molded, which emphasizes their linearity.  Similarly, the straight Marlborough legs have serpentine-profile moldings cut into the two outer faces, emphasizing their linearity.  Even the drawer-front edges and bottom edges of the table frame rails have beads that define their rectangles.

The left rear leg swings backward to support the hinged leaf.  All of the Marlborough legs are chamfered on the inside corner edge, a reduction in mass that visually favors the two molded faces.  The brasses are simple post-and-bails—spare in appearance so as not to compete or distract.