25/2006
Collection
Furniture
Brief description
Mahogany tripod table with a tilt-top on a birdcage hinge, made in England c.1740.
Object name
table
Object number
25/2006
Location
On Display
Production date
c.1740 (manufactured)
Production place
England (manufactured)
Period
Georgian (1714-1837)
Material
mahogany
Technique
turned
joined
joined
Physical description
Mahogany pillar and claw tripod tilt-top table with a circular top on a birdcage hinge (an eighteenth century hinge with tiny spindles on four sides, used so that the top may revolve horizontally or tilt to a vertical position). The table has gunbarrel turnings, a gunbarrel pillar and three cabriole legs (carved, double-curved, tapering leg) with pad feet.
The table is a generally homogenous dark mahogany brown colour although the top is lightest on its upper surface. The pillar is darker than the top or the legs. The patination on the top is even, although there are shallow scratches and dents and there is a dark stain [from iron?]. There is a long recent-looking bruise [present when table was purchased by the museum] running across the grain from approximately the centre of the table towards the outside. The underside of the top is very dark, with a paler (finger-marked) perimeter. It appears to have a finish on it, possibly a light oil finish, which could be original. The bearers and the birdcage have a solar finish. There are four small pads glued to the underside of the top, corresponding to the four corners of the top block of the birdcage (to take up wear). There is bruising to the underside of the top corresponding to the four pillars of the birdcage. Two of the pillars in the birdcage have nails driven into their tops presumably to tighten their fit in the block. The other two nearest the hinge are slack in the block. The base of the block is worn and scored where it rotates on the top of the pillar and one of the birdcage pillars has two nails driven in to tighten it. All of the screws securing the batons appear to be original as do the screws securing the catch.
There are chips to the top of the pillar where the wedge passes through as well as some heavy burnishing and scoring on contact surfaces where the block rotates on the pillar. The pillar has a dark slightly opaque varnish, which could be original but has gone milky. There is slight chipping to the capital of the pillar. The base of the pillar has a small split running from the corner of one of the dovetails about 2cms up the stem. This almost certainly relates to a break in the base of the corresponding leg. The leg also has chips filled on its upper side where it buts against the base of the pillar. The tip of the triangle is also damaged in the area corresponding to the break on the leg. The other two legs are undamaged. The wedge is considerably lighter than the rest of the table and is fairly slack in its slot, suggesting it has possibly been replaced. It is stamped with the Letter 'L'.
Object was physically marked on the underside of the birdcage with its Object Number on 08/02/2010.
The table is a generally homogenous dark mahogany brown colour although the top is lightest on its upper surface. The pillar is darker than the top or the legs. The patination on the top is even, although there are shallow scratches and dents and there is a dark stain [from iron?]. There is a long recent-looking bruise [present when table was purchased by the museum] running across the grain from approximately the centre of the table towards the outside. The underside of the top is very dark, with a paler (finger-marked) perimeter. It appears to have a finish on it, possibly a light oil finish, which could be original. The bearers and the birdcage have a solar finish. There are four small pads glued to the underside of the top, corresponding to the four corners of the top block of the birdcage (to take up wear). There is bruising to the underside of the top corresponding to the four pillars of the birdcage. Two of the pillars in the birdcage have nails driven into their tops presumably to tighten their fit in the block. The other two nearest the hinge are slack in the block. The base of the block is worn and scored where it rotates on the top of the pillar and one of the birdcage pillars has two nails driven in to tighten it. All of the screws securing the batons appear to be original as do the screws securing the catch.
There are chips to the top of the pillar where the wedge passes through as well as some heavy burnishing and scoring on contact surfaces where the block rotates on the pillar. The pillar has a dark slightly opaque varnish, which could be original but has gone milky. There is slight chipping to the capital of the pillar. The base of the pillar has a small split running from the corner of one of the dovetails about 2cms up the stem. This almost certainly relates to a break in the base of the corresponding leg. The leg also has chips filled on its upper side where it buts against the base of the pillar. The tip of the triangle is also damaged in the area corresponding to the break on the leg. The other two legs are undamaged. The wedge is considerably lighter than the rest of the table and is fairly slack in its slot, suggesting it has possibly been replaced. It is stamped with the Letter 'L'.
Object was physically marked on the underside of the birdcage with its Object Number on 08/02/2010.
Dimensions
Height: 71.5cm
Diameter: 84cm
Diameter: 84cm
Website keywords
Decoration and furnishings
furniture
tables
furniture
tables
Label
Label text for 1745 Period Room (Room 3), Geffrye Museum, 2010:
Tripod table
This was a fairly new form of table. It first came into use in the late 1720s and was a standard piece in middling parlours until the end of the century. Like the India-back chairs, such tables were often shown in portraits and were clearly a key part of a ‘polite’ image. The success of this design was also due to the fact that the top could be put into a vertical position, so that the table took up little space when not in use, and the tripod base made it suitable to stand neatly in a corner.
Mahogany, 1730s–1740s
Label text for the exhibition At Home with the World, Geffrye Museum (20 March 2012- 9 September 2012):
Tripod table
Mahogany
Made in England, about 1750–1775
Tables like this, manufactured from the late 1720s, became a typical English form, yet the design sources are French and Dutch, and the material, mahogany, is from the Caribbean. The tip-up top and tripod base are drawn from ‘Dutch tables’ and the double-curved shape of the legs, now known as ‘cabriole’, from France, and described at the time as ‘French legs’.
Label text for a touchscreen computer programme displayed in the exhibition, At Home with the World, Geffrye Museum (20 March 2012- 9 September 2012):
Introduction:
A standard piece in middling parlours in eighteenth century England, this table has both Dutch and French origins. It is made of mahogany imported from the Caribbean colonies. Tripod tables feature in contemporary portraits as symbols of polite refinement and were commonly used to serve the fashionable hot drinks of the period. [This information was displayed alongside an image of this table, (object number 25/2006), caption 'Tripod table, mahogany, made in England c.1750-1775.']
Global Connections, Americas, USA
This table is made of mahogany, a hard wood that was a highly useful resource from the colonies. Its harvest and production was closely tied to both sugar production and the transatlantic slave trade, as enslaved Africans were used to harvest the wood. [This information was displayed alongside an image of a print of a mahogany tree, plate 81 from Mark Catesby 'Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahamas', Vol. 2, 1743 in the Natural History Museum collection, caption 'The mahogany tree, print 1743'.]
Global Connections, Asia, China
This sort of table was used to serve the fashionable new hot drinks in the eighteenth century. Tea imported from China was served in delicate porcelain cups at such a table. Its top could be tipped up and the table put to one side when not being used. [This information was displayed alongside an image of Room 3 in the Geffrye Museum, caption 'Tripod table being used to serve tea in the 1745 parlour at the Geffrye Museum.']
Global Connections, Europe, Netherlands
Tables like the one shown here are referred to as ‘Dutch tables’ in documents of the period. The distinctive design, with its tripod base and tip-up top, was adopted by makers in London and the term could also relate to English-made pieces. [This information was displayed alongside an image of a 'Dutch' table from the Drayton House collection, caption 'Painted deal 'Dutch' table, 1700-1730, in the collection of Drayton House'.]
Global Connections, Europe, France
The base of this table demonstrates French influence in its cabriole legs. Common in the designs of furniture in the eighteenth century, this double-curved form was known as the ‘claw’ or ‘French’ leg, in direct reference to its Continental origins. [This information was displayed alongside a detailed image of the legs of this table, (object number 25/2006), caption 'Detail of cabriole leg on tripod table'.]
Forms of politeness
Mahogany tripod tables often took centre stage in ‘conversation pieces’ that became fashionable in the eighteenth century. These paintings would often show a family seated around tables like this engaged in activities such as reading, writing or taking tea. They depicted ideals of polite behaviour. [This information was displayed alongside an image of the Brewster family, oil on canvas painting by Thomas Bardwell in the Geffrye Museum collection (object number 42/2006), caption 'Group portrait by Thomas Bardwell, oil on canvas, dated 1736.']
A full transcript of this information and associated images is available on the object history file.
Tripod table
This was a fairly new form of table. It first came into use in the late 1720s and was a standard piece in middling parlours until the end of the century. Like the India-back chairs, such tables were often shown in portraits and were clearly a key part of a ‘polite’ image. The success of this design was also due to the fact that the top could be put into a vertical position, so that the table took up little space when not in use, and the tripod base made it suitable to stand neatly in a corner.
Mahogany, 1730s–1740s
Label text for the exhibition At Home with the World, Geffrye Museum (20 March 2012- 9 September 2012):
Tripod table
Mahogany
Made in England, about 1750–1775
Tables like this, manufactured from the late 1720s, became a typical English form, yet the design sources are French and Dutch, and the material, mahogany, is from the Caribbean. The tip-up top and tripod base are drawn from ‘Dutch tables’ and the double-curved shape of the legs, now known as ‘cabriole’, from France, and described at the time as ‘French legs’.
Label text for a touchscreen computer programme displayed in the exhibition, At Home with the World, Geffrye Museum (20 March 2012- 9 September 2012):
Introduction:
A standard piece in middling parlours in eighteenth century England, this table has both Dutch and French origins. It is made of mahogany imported from the Caribbean colonies. Tripod tables feature in contemporary portraits as symbols of polite refinement and were commonly used to serve the fashionable hot drinks of the period. [This information was displayed alongside an image of this table, (object number 25/2006), caption 'Tripod table, mahogany, made in England c.1750-1775.']
Global Connections, Americas, USA
This table is made of mahogany, a hard wood that was a highly useful resource from the colonies. Its harvest and production was closely tied to both sugar production and the transatlantic slave trade, as enslaved Africans were used to harvest the wood. [This information was displayed alongside an image of a print of a mahogany tree, plate 81 from Mark Catesby 'Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahamas', Vol. 2, 1743 in the Natural History Museum collection, caption 'The mahogany tree, print 1743'.]
Global Connections, Asia, China
This sort of table was used to serve the fashionable new hot drinks in the eighteenth century. Tea imported from China was served in delicate porcelain cups at such a table. Its top could be tipped up and the table put to one side when not being used. [This information was displayed alongside an image of Room 3 in the Geffrye Museum, caption 'Tripod table being used to serve tea in the 1745 parlour at the Geffrye Museum.']
Global Connections, Europe, Netherlands
Tables like the one shown here are referred to as ‘Dutch tables’ in documents of the period. The distinctive design, with its tripod base and tip-up top, was adopted by makers in London and the term could also relate to English-made pieces. [This information was displayed alongside an image of a 'Dutch' table from the Drayton House collection, caption 'Painted deal 'Dutch' table, 1700-1730, in the collection of Drayton House'.]
Global Connections, Europe, France
The base of this table demonstrates French influence in its cabriole legs. Common in the designs of furniture in the eighteenth century, this double-curved form was known as the ‘claw’ or ‘French’ leg, in direct reference to its Continental origins. [This information was displayed alongside a detailed image of the legs of this table, (object number 25/2006), caption 'Detail of cabriole leg on tripod table'.]
Forms of politeness
Mahogany tripod tables often took centre stage in ‘conversation pieces’ that became fashionable in the eighteenth century. These paintings would often show a family seated around tables like this engaged in activities such as reading, writing or taking tea. They depicted ideals of polite behaviour. [This information was displayed alongside an image of the Brewster family, oil on canvas painting by Thomas Bardwell in the Geffrye Museum collection (object number 42/2006), caption 'Group portrait by Thomas Bardwell, oil on canvas, dated 1736.']
A full transcript of this information and associated images is available on the object history file.
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© Museum of the Home, London
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© Museum of the Home, London
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© Museum of the Home, London
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