Lot Essay
This extraordinary tea table, with its carved pie crust edge and naturalistic intertwined acanthus and frond carved cabriole legs embodies the best Rococo elements found on furniture made in Philadelphia in the 18th century. Period documentation suggests this table was probably made by Philadelphia cabinetmaker Thomas Affleck (1740 - 1795), and subsequently traded by him.
Ultimately owned by Philadelphia rum merchant, Levi Hollingsworth, this table was acquired by Hollingsworth on August 5, 1779 in part trade for "7 Gallons Spirit L52.10." Hollingsworth had purchased new other furnishings from Affleck, however, the probable circumstances of this transaction necessitated an in kind trade. At the time of the table's acquisition, Philadelphia was in the throes of America's war for independence. With the evacuation of the British from Philadelphia in 1778, local currencies were at best inflated and otherwise uncertain; accordingly, monetary transactions for neccessary goods, such as rum, were most likely best paid for in tangibles.
Other business transactions between Affleck and Hollingsworth are documented in the Paschall-Hollingsworth papers in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Perhaps the most famous of these are the pair of matching high chests and dressing tables made by Affleck for Hollingsworth. The first pair, now in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, is illustrated in Beatrice Garvan, et al Philadelphia: Three Centuries of American Art (Philadelphia, 1976), fig. 109a-b, pp. 140-144. The second pair is now in the collection of Chipstone Foundation.
Other tables with similarly carved legs include one in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, illustrated and discussed in Morrison H. Hecksher, American Furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York 1985) p. 195, fig. 124; a second table with compressed ball and dished top is now in the collection of the Western Reserve Historical Society, and illustrated in Jairus B. Barnes and Moselle Taylor Meals American Furniture in the Western Reserve (Cleveland 1972), no. 118; another table also with a pie crust edge is illustrated and discussed in The Magazine Antiques (March 1932), vol. XXI, no. 3, p. 114.
Ultimately owned by Philadelphia rum merchant, Levi Hollingsworth, this table was acquired by Hollingsworth on August 5, 1779 in part trade for "7 Gallons Spirit L52.10." Hollingsworth had purchased new other furnishings from Affleck, however, the probable circumstances of this transaction necessitated an in kind trade. At the time of the table's acquisition, Philadelphia was in the throes of America's war for independence. With the evacuation of the British from Philadelphia in 1778, local currencies were at best inflated and otherwise uncertain; accordingly, monetary transactions for neccessary goods, such as rum, were most likely best paid for in tangibles.
Other business transactions between Affleck and Hollingsworth are documented in the Paschall-Hollingsworth papers in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Perhaps the most famous of these are the pair of matching high chests and dressing tables made by Affleck for Hollingsworth. The first pair, now in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, is illustrated in Beatrice Garvan, et al Philadelphia: Three Centuries of American Art (Philadelphia, 1976), fig. 109a-b, pp. 140-144. The second pair is now in the collection of Chipstone Foundation.
Other tables with similarly carved legs include one in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, illustrated and discussed in Morrison H. Hecksher, American Furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York 1985) p. 195, fig. 124; a second table with compressed ball and dished top is now in the collection of the Western Reserve Historical Society, and illustrated in Jairus B. Barnes and Moselle Taylor Meals American Furniture in the Western Reserve (Cleveland 1972), no. 118; another table also with a pie crust edge is illustrated and discussed in The Magazine Antiques (March 1932), vol. XXI, no. 3, p. 114.