Multiform Table
Artist
Charles A. Baudouine
(American, active New York, 1829 - 1854)
Date1852
MediumRosewood, ash, black walnut, unknown tropical wood, modern felt, leather
DimensionsHalf table: 29 3/8 x 46 1/2 x 16 in. (closed); 29 3/8 x 46 1/2 x 31 3/4 in. (open); two halves joined as center table: 29 3/8 x 46 1/2 x 31 3/4 in.
ClassificationsFURNISHINGS
Credit LinePROCTOR COLLECTION
Terms
Object numberPC. 423.1-2
DescriptionCarved cabriole legs and whorl feet. Can be put together to form a center tableOn View
On viewCollections
Copyright<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>.
Label TextBy the mid-nineteenth century it became customary to acquire suites of matching parlor furniture that included armchairs, side chairs, a sofa or settee, and a center table. Other forms, such as an étagère or a méridienne, could also be purchased en suite.
Whereas James and Helen Williams of Utica New York, could have afforded a richly carved set of furniture from John Henry Belter's shop, located just down the block from Charles Baudouine's, the elegant simplicity and quality of the furniture made in
Baudouine's shop appealed to the Williams' taste. In 1852, when they furnished the formal parlor of their Genesee Street home, Fountain Elms, they paid $512 for a suite of ten pieces: two armchairs, four side chairs, two settees, and this two-part "multiform table." (See also P.C. 423.3-10).
