Card Table

Date1760-1790

MediumMahogany and white pine

DimensionsOH: 28 7/8"; OW: 30 3/8"; OD (open): 31 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1930-1

DescriptionAppearance: Card table with rectangular top with serpentine front, block form front corners and slight serpentine sides composed of two leaves, one a folding leaf with the outer edge cut in an arched repeat, supported by two compass hinges, when open forming a square table with four squared corners separated by a serpentine outline; the lower stationary leaf has a molded edge and extends slightly over an apron which conforms in outline with the top, with serpentine front, block form corners, slight serpentine sides and finished at the base with a beaded edge carved in a manner suggesting very shallow roping. Supported on four square legs with fluting on the outside portions of the front legs and at the side of the back legs, are chamfered on the inside. There are open fretwork brackets connecting the base of the skirt to the side of the front legs on both the front and sides. The left back leg swings to form support for the folding leaf.

Woods: Mahogany with back rail and interior blocks of white pine.
Label TextProduced in Newport, Rhode Island, the Foundation's two card tables of similar form demonstrate through their differences the changes in taste and fashion that occurred at the end of the eighteenth century. Where this table has straight legs of equal thickness, the other's legs (accession 1956-273) taper toward the floor. One table's skirt is solid mahogany and is flat, or blocked, where it meets the rails. The other's is veneered and the serpentine curve continues all the way to the edge. This lighter, more delicate table illustrated the new preference for furniture in the early classical style. Yet the shape followed a traditional Rhode Island format visible in the earlier example.

From the mid-eighteenth century, Newport cabinetmakers produced tables, chests, and desks for export to southern markets. Between 1764 and 1767, Rhode Island ships brought 237 pieces of furniture to Charleston, South Carolina. That pattern continued after the Revolution; the later of these two Newport card tables (1956-273) has a history in Norfolk, Virginia.

InscribedFiguring in chalk on rear of gate.
MarkingsNone
ProvenanceAcquired in Petersburg, Virginia

Exhibition(s)