Images(2)

Tilt-top tea table

Dateca. 1760

OriginAmerica, Virginia, Norfolk (possibly)

MediumMahogany and iron

DimensionsH (top down): 29"; OH (top tilted): 48 1/4"; OW: 34 5/8"; OD: 38 1/8"

Credit LineGift of William Goode Beville

Object number2018-175

DescriptionAppearance:
Round, flat tilt-top tea table with columnar pedestal, three cabriole legs ending in elongated pad feet; birdcage at top of pedestal has four indistinct baluster shaped supports.

Construction:
Two long shaped battens are screwed to the underside of the top; a brass lock and a wooden turn-buckle (modern) are screwed to the underside of the top; top board of birdcage has round tenons extending at one end on either side that fit into mortises in the battens and allow the top to tilt; birdcage sits over top of pedestal; birdcage composed of top and bottom boards joined by four baluster shaped supports tenoned through the top and bottom boards and wedged; birdcage bottom board has a circular opening that fits over the top of the pedestal; top of pedestal narrows to a 1" diameter and fits into a divot in the underside of the birdcage top; flat key is wedged through a slot in the upper portion of the pedestal within the birdcage; there is a possibly leather washer between the bottom of the birdcage and the widest portion of the pedestal; the legs are dovetailed (sliding dovetails) into the base of the pedestal; an iron spider is nailed and screwed to the underside of the pedestal and legs.
Label TextWhile a substantial number of southern tea tables feature baluster-form shafts, many others are supported on columnar turnings derived from one of the five classical orders of architecture. A few of the shafts are elaborately fluted or carved, though most, including this eastern Virginia example, are relatively unadorned. Numerous urban and rural variations of these plainer forms, which were especially favored in the lower Chesapeake during the eighteenth century, survive. One such black walnut example (pedastal only) descended in the family of Williamsburg cabinetmaker Benjamin Bucktrout (d. 1813) (acc. 1989-426). Tea tables of the same form were also popular in Newport, Rhode Island. The design, common in Britain as well, probably was transmitted to both Rhode Island and Virginia by British artisans. This example may have been made in Norfolk, Virginia where it was discovered in the mid-20th century.
ProvenanceOwner purchased at auction in Norfolk, Virginia in January or February 1960.