Pembroke Table
Attributed to
Holmes Weaver
(American, active Newport, Rhode Island, 1799 - 1815)
Date1800-1810
MediumMahogany, probably maple, brass
DimensionsOverall: 28 7/8 x 19 3/8 x 29 7/8in. (73.3 x 49.2 x 75.9cm)
Overall (in open position): 28 7/8 x 31 7/8 x 29 7/8in. (73.3 x 81 x 75.9cm)
Overall (in open position): 28 7/8 x 31 7/8 x 29 7/8in. (73.3 x 81 x 75.9cm)
ClassificationsFURNISHINGS
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Francis M. Metcalf
Terms
Object number66.98
DescriptionInlaid paired panels with concave cut corners, false drawer, gilt rosette pull; mahogany Pembroke table with tapered legs, a single drawer and stamped brass pulls, one at each end. Pale wood stringing lines are inlaid at the two ends (drawer front and false front) and the two outside faces of each leg. Stringing on the legs terminates with engraved tassels and with cross-grainbed cuffs at the bottom. The top of each end face of the legs is inlaid with engraved urns on pedestals. Surface coating: show surfaces are varnished with a spirit resin varnish (estimated).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 TextOne of the decorative techniques that distinguishes neo-classical furniture is inlay, patterned and pictorial. Patterned inlays - the bands, for example, along the edge of the top of the card table - are created from small pieces of exotic woods. Specialists often made this type of inlay for numerous cabinetmakers. Some pictorial inlays, such as the distinct urn resting on a plinth that is featured at the tops of the legs on the Pembroke table, were made within cabinetmakers' shops rather than by individual specialists. Consequently, pictorial inlays can sometimes be used as aids to determine the maker of an object.
The Pembroke table - a new form of furniture that emerged during the Federal period-was often used for serving breakfast, but the small size, folding leaves, and single drawer fostered other uses.
