Images(2)

Tea Table

Date1750-1780

OriginAmerica, North Carolina, Chowan County (probably)

MediumBlack walnut and white pine (modern)

DimensionsOH: 27 1/2"; OW: 38"; OD: 25 3/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1936-36

DescriptionTea table with rectangular top, molded on edge; ogee-shaped skirt on all four sides; four turned, straight legs, terminating in pad feet

Woods: Primary: walnut; Secondary: modern white pine on underside of top
Label TextA significant number of tables closely related to this one have been discovered in the Chowan River basin of northeastern North Carolina. Most date from the second and third quarters of the eighteenth century. Characteristics common to the group include rectangular tops with truncated corners and slightly beveled edges, straight turned legs with "button" feet (CWF acc. 1933-8), and rails with double ogee or similar curvilinear shaping on their lower edges. The same format remained popular in the Chowan basin after the Revolution. Later versions retained the shaping of the top and rails but abandoned the disk-like foot in favor of the newly fashionable pad shape (MESDA research file 12,168). These tables were also produced with beaded Marlborough legs (CWF acc. 1933-7).

As with other "square" tea tables of the period, the CWF table is finished on all four sides and was therefore intended to be used away from the wall. The absence of a raised molding along the edges of the top implies that its function was not confined to taking tea. Period graphics show simple tables of this size being used for dining, reading, writing, sewing, and any number of other activities including tea drinking. Like round pillar-and-claw tea tables, they were probably moved about the house as needed to take advantage of available heat, cool air, or light and to suit the changing needs of the owner. The easy portability and general versatility of small rectangular tables explains the large number of similar examples that survive.