Pier Table
Artist
Maker unknown
Date1825
MediumMahogany, black ash, eastern white pine, yellow poplar, marble, glass, gilded gesso, gilded bronze, gilding
DimensionsOverall: 38 7/8 x 46 1/4 x 19 1/8in. (98.7 x 117.5 x 48.6cm)
ClassificationsFURNISHINGS
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Terms
Object number59.125
DescriptionBlack marble top, mirrored back, and giled feet.On 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 TextSome objects survive with fascinating histories. Betsy and William Randall purchased this pier table and a pier mirror around 1828 to furnish their Cortland, New York, home. In a 1928 history of the Randall mansion, area historian and former newspaper editor Edward D. Blodgett stated that the Randalls had gone by stage, packet boat, and steamship to New York "to buy suitable furniture for their pretentious dwelling."
Pier tables and pier mirrors are so named because they were intended to be placed in a room--such as the parlor--between two windows, in a space called the "pier" in architectural terminology. The gilded detailing on the table and the mirrored surface would reflect light for practical purposes and for decorative effect.
