Dining table center section

1810-1830 Measurements 28 1/4 in x 47 7/8 in x 22 3/8 in (open, 68 5/8 in) Materials Mahogany; cherry (frame and swing rails), unidentified conifer (small spacer in frame and glue blocks) Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.

Accession Number 1971.594 Condition Notes

One corner leg has a repaired split.

Provenance

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

Comments

The rectangular table, made of dense, heavy mahogany, has six turned legs and two deep leaves supported by legs that swing out from the frame.  A bead runs along the bottom edge and across the leg stiles of table frame ends. The bottom edge of each leaf has projecting leaf-edge tenons designed to fit into leaves of accompanying D shaped end tables.  Thus, this drop-leaf table is the center section of what was once an ensemble of three tables.  The end sections did not accompany this center section when it was bequeathed to The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.

The turned legs offer subtle clues about when and where this table was made.  The presence of stacked rings at the top of the leg and a ball turning above a slightly tapered cone foot suggest the Philadelphia area, although these features are modified significantly from federal-period prototypes. The modifications suggest passage of time and likely geographical distance.  The wood hinges that attach the two swing legs to the frame are square, not cylindrical as was the prevailing practice in the Philadelphia area, but a few exceptions are known, and time and distance may have introduced change.  Use of cherry in the frame suggests and non-Philadelphia origin for the table.