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Dropleaf table. Mahogany with birch hinge rails; white pine and other secondary wood. Rectangular top with rectangular leaves. Top and leaves each composed of a single board. Molded skirt with cyma recta curve and ogee arch. Rests on cabriole legs with scrolled over-the-apron knee bracket and raised pad feet.
dropleaf tables
Table
This table survives along with a 1770 bill of sale from Boston cabinetmaker George Bright to Jonathan Bowman of Pownalborough, Massachusetts (now Maine). The table appears in Bright's bill as one of "2 Dineing (sic) Tables," and comprises the sole survivor of the pair. That documentation links the table to its Boston origins and maker and suggests what 48 shillings could buy in 1770. By purchasing two dining tables, Bowman insured flexibility as the two could be used individually or butted next to each other to accommodate a larger party. The design of the feet, carved atop large pads, appeared frequently in Boston furniture, and rose to popularity in Boston at the same time as the ball and claw foot.
Original To Bowman-Carney House (Dresden, Me.),
Bright, George, 1726-1805 (Furniture maker)
28 3/4 x 45 x 44 13/16 (HxWxD) (inches)
Gift of Miss Florence L. Bixby
1980.78
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