CLASSICAL CARVED MAHOGANY PIER TABLE
Boston, c. 1830
The oblong white marble top above a knife-edge molding and conforming frieze supported in front by fluted columns with carved Ionic capitals and turned bases, and in back by engaged column pilasters flanking a mirror, all raised on a concave plinth.
H: 37″ W: 42″ D: 19″
Condition: Excellent: Refinished with shellac in the manner of the period. Retaining its original mirror and period marble top.
The simple, elegant design of this Classical mahogany Pier Table was likely inspired by designs published in 1804 by Pierre de la Mésangère in Collection des Meubles et Objets de goût, (Paris, 1796-1830), pl. 111; a mantelpiece design neatly paired with the concave base that would have become fashionable in the early 1830s. It also relates strongly to a design published by Thomas King in Modern Style of Cabinetwork Exemplified (London, 1829), pl 35. Both design directories were highly influential in the United States. An in-depth explanation of the origins of Classical design in American furniture of the early 19th century can be found here on this website.
In contrast, a Boston pier table with the bronze mounts of twenty years earlier, and more Roman than Greek in inspiration, can be seen in an example at the Hood Museum at Dartmouth College.
T-P-1403181