Diplomatic Reception Rooms, U.S. Department of State

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Federal Inlaid and Figured Mahogany Card Table

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Object Details

Maker
Unknown
Date
ca. 1790-1820
Geography
United States: Massachusetts: Boston
Culture
North American
Medium
wood; mahogany; mahogany veneer; light- and dark-wood inlays; birch; eastern white pine; hard maple
Dimensions
Overall: 29 1/8 in x 33 11/16 in x 17 1/2 in; 73.9775 cm x 85.56625 cm x 44.45 cm
Provenance
Israel Sack, Inc., New York; to the Fine Arts Committee through purchase
Inscriptions
None
Credit Line
Funds donated by Miss Louise Ines Doyle
Collection
The Diplomatic Reception Rooms, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C.
Accession Number
RR-1976.0050

Related Objects

Federal Mahogany Card Table

Federal Mahogany Card Table
Unknown
ca. 1795-1805
wood; mahogany; mahogany veneer; light-curly maple (possible) and dark-wood inlay; cherry; eastern white pine

Object Essay

This table provides an interesting contrast with another Boston table in the Collection (see Acc. No. 66.112). Although the tables share many characteristics, including shape (square with ovolo corners), inlaid classical urns on the pilasters (Hewitt, no. 134), straight legs tapered below the cuff, and an inlaid eagle in an oval at the center of the pilaster framed by a mitered rectangle, there are subtle differences that reflect the many nuances of design individualizing examples of this popular form of Federal-period furniture.1For references to Boston straight-leg tables, see Acc. No. 66.112. This card table was not included in Benjamin A. Hewitt’s survey of the form. For example, this table is more somber than Acc. No. 66.112, since it lacks the color contrasts of light and dark veneers. The eagle surmounted by eighteen stars is enclosed within a border of patterned inlay not present on Acc. No. 66.112.

Gerald W. R. Ward

Excerpted from Clement E. Conger, et al. Treasures of State: Fine and Decorative Arts in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the U.S. Department of State. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1991.