Dressing table

Date1725-1740

Attributed to Joseph Claypoole

Attributed to George Claypoole Sr. (1706 - 1793)

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

MediumBlack walnut, white cedar, and tulip poplar

DimensionsOH: 28 1/8"; OW: 34 1/4"; OD: 21 1/2"

Credit LineGift of Mr. & Mrs. Miodrag R. Blagojevich.

Object number1976-425

DescriptionAppearance: Rectangular top dressing table with molded edges and notched corners; skirt slightly shaped along bottom edges of front and sides; two full width graduated drawers with molded edges in front skirt, each with central stamped brass escutcheons and two stamped brass drawer pulls; turned legs with baluster, ring, ball, and ring turnings; rectangular stretchers between legs; turned partial ball feet.

Construction: Front rails, sides, and back are tenoned and pegged to legs; drawer blade between drawers is tenoned (not pegged) to legs; stretchers are tenoned and pegged to legs; drawer supports with integral guides are notched around and nailed to legs; top is nailed or pegged to tops of legs; drawers have standard dovetail construction; flat multi-board drawer bottoms, with front to back grain orientation, are nailed to rabbet in front and edges of sides and back.

Label TextThe Claypoole family of joiners produced a wide array of furniture forms and styles that spanned almost the entire century. This dressing table represents their facility with joinery and turning in the early baroque style, while later pieces demonstrate their familiarity with cabriole legs, ogee pediments, and ball-and-claw feet.

Joseph, the first Claypoole joiner, may have worked as a journeyman in the shop of Edward Evans. George Claypoole, Joseph's son, was one of the most successful cabinetmaker in Philadelphia by the 1780s. He paid the same amount in occupational taxes as Benjamin Randolph who made ornately carved furniture for John Cadwalader, and just $50 less than Thomas Affleck, who made the double chest for merchant David Deshler.

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