Lady's Work Table
Maker
Unknown, American
Additional Title(s)
- Federal mahogany lady's worktable
Collections
ClassificationsDECORATIVE ARTS
Dateca. 1810
Mediummahogany, mahogany veneer, and Eastern White pine, with silk sewing bag (recent replacement)
Dimensions30 1/4 x 18 3/4 x 14 1/2 in. (76.8 x 47.6 x 36.8 cm.)
DescriptionThe table with a shaped rectangular top having four 'coin' corners and a molded edge, above a pair of drawers each mounted with a pair of simple wood knob pulls, and a sewing bag slide, raised on tapered reeded circular section legs headed by spool-turned stiles extending to simple turned feet terminating in knobls. Each drawer and the corresponding side and rear decoratibe panels with an edge of alternating dark and light colored wood stringing, the frieze with an applied simple molded edge continuous on all sides. The interor of the top drawer fitted with a writing slide and divided sections, interior of the second drawer with evidence of dividers, now missing.
InscribedInscription Typed paper label to the underside of the workbag slide inscribed in pencil: '27'. Inscription in yellow paint: 'l.1933-3.' Rectangular adhesive paper label with canted corners and a double red border attached to drawer side, inscribed in ink: 'Mrs. C.J. Fitch - ES & A N.Y.'
Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gift of Dr. Arthur Bond Cecil and Mrs. Henrietta Smith Cecil
Label TextMany highly inventive forms of furniture were developed in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, reflecting both the country’s increasing affluence and the greater specialization of domestic space in 19th century households. Several of these new forms were specifically designed for use by women in their domestic duties. Small, lightweight, and finished on all four sides, a lady’s worktable such as this could easily be placed beside a chair or in the center of a room and then set aside when not in use. Often equipped with drawers, a writing surface, and a pouch in which to store sewing materials, these tables could be used for reading, writing, or needlework.
The care evident in the creation of this worktable—with its tapering reeded legs, its drawers with inset veneer panels, and its luxurious silk sewing bag (a modern recreation based on a typical 18th-century form)— underscores the importance of needlework and writing in women’s lives in the first decades of the 19th century.
Status
On viewObject number91.288.7
Exhibitions
