Images(10)

Lady's Work table

Date1814

Artist/Maker Isaac Young

OriginAmerica, South Carolina, Charleston

MediumMahogany, satinwood, white pine, ivory, wall paper, leather

DimensionsOH: 27 3/8" OW: 25" OD: 13"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1994-22

DescriptionMahogany and mahogany veneered astragal-end work table with reeding around case sides, drawer front, and turned legs. Solid top hinges at back revealing deep, half-round compartments on either end lined with printed paper and a center removable 9-compartment tray. 8 of the 9 tray compartments were originally fitted with lids and turned ivory knobs; the largest central compartment does not have a lid. The top rail has crotch mahogany veneer and mahogany banding was applied around the bottom edge of the case and the lid's top edge. Carved wooden floral appliqués have been applied to the front of the four stiles.
Label TextThe 1810 New-York Revised Prices for Manufacturing Cabinet and Chair Work included descriptions of two types of ladies work tables: square and “astragal end.” These astragal end tables, with half round ends, became common in New York, Philadelphia, and to a lesser degree Charleston during the early years of the 19th century, echoing London fashions. The top of this table lifts to reveal a square center tray fitted with partitions and lids, and two D shaped open ends lined with later wallpaper for storing needlework. The center portion of the reeded skirt is a deep drawer for the same purpose that can also be accessed from the top by removing the center square tray of compartments. Nothing is known of cabinetmaker Isaac Young who signed and dated this piece on April 13, 1814 in Charleston, South Carolina. He specifically chose the veneer around the top of the reeded case to create a swag effect with the mahogany grain similar to that of draped fabric seen in English ladies work table designs like that of Thomas Sheraton. (see pl. 26 in Thomas Sheraton, Appendix to the Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing-Book (London, 1793)). The delicate legs were replaced, possibly by Richmond, Virginia cabinetmaker Samuel A. White who signed that he had repaired the table in 1929, and the rose appliques were likely added at that time as well. A second dated and signed example of Isaac Young's astragal end work table with a pedastal base was published in an advertisement in The Magazine Antiques in 1965. Whether or not the pedastal base is original is not known, but if it too was a replacment, it suggests Young's legs may not have been the sturdiest.
InscribedInterior back panel is signed. Double pencil lines suggest it has been retraced. Panel reads: "Charlston S.C. / Made by Isaac Young / April 13 1814 / Repaired by S. A. Wht [White]/ Oct 4 1929."
On bottom board: "S[ti]ne" in black paint/ink. "236/35" in yellow.
ProvenanceBelieved to have descended in the Branch family, although no connection to Charleston, SC is known. Owned by Mrs. Robert G. Cabell III (Maude Crenshaw Morgan Cabell (1882-1961)) in 1931. Between 1931 and 1994 passed to her husband's second cousin, Patteson Branch (1921-1997) and his wife, Carlisle Nance Morrisset Branch (b.1922) of Richmond, Virginia.