Washstand

1815-1840

Measurements

33-1/8 in x 15-3/8 in x 15-3/8 in

Materials

White pine, tulip poplar top rails, mahogany hinged lid

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.

Accession Number

1971.641

Condition Notes

See "Comments" text.

Provenance

Ex coll. Mrs. E. Tatnall (Mary Corbit) Warner

Comments

Of conventional design, this washstand has a shelf for a water pitcher and a single drawer below for sundries.  The top of the stand has the usual circular cutouts:  a large one for a basin and two smaller ones for soap dishes.  That functional top was covered later by a hinged board, thus converting the stand from its obvious washstand use to a more generic stand.

Physical features argue that this washstand was made by a local furniture maker.  It is made of pine, although the opposed-ogee decorated top rails appear to be tulip poplar or another hardwood.  This mix of woods indicates that the stand was originally painted.  Decades later, it was stripped of all paint and refinished to resemble mahogany. (The upper ogee-cut rails are stained on the inside making visual wood identification difficult.)  At that time too, the hinged lid disguising its function was added.  Given ownership of the stand by Mrs. Warner, it is very possible that she converted the stand after marrying in 1876 and moving to her Wilmington house, which almost certainly had indoor plumbing that made washstands obsolete.