Half-round (or demilune) table
Northeastern United States
1790-1830
Measurements
29-1/4 in x 26-1/2 in x 14-5/8 in
Materials
White pine
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of H. Rodney Sharp
Accession Number
1959.3811
Provenance
Ex coll. H. Rodney Sharp
Comments
This half-round table (a shape also demilune) may have been made and used as a form of dressing table, likely with some kind of textile covering. It has few decorative aspirations, yet it is not highly functional. Instead, it seems to invite specialized use—and an attractive cover.
The table has three undecorated legs that taper slightly. The back table rail attaches to them with two tenons in each side, each of which is mortised through the leg and wedged from the end and (redundantly) pinned through the side. On one side of the table, the tenons have a single wedge, but they have two on the other side. The front leg is held in place by nails driven through the 45-degree angled cut of the deep, front rails and into the leg. The single top board is held by nails. It has three small unused nail holes. The table has a clear finish of unknown age.
Determining where this table was made is a puzzle, because it exhibits so few features that can be regionalized. Use of white pine suggests almost anywhere in the Northeast, as well as a few other places, such as Charleston, South Carolina, to where that wood was shipped.
