A RED PAINTED OVAL WRITING TABLE

Details

A RED PAINTED OVAL WRITING TABLE
EPHRATA CLOISTER, LANCASTER COUNTY, 19TH CENTURY

The elongated oval top above a straight-sided applied apron on four crossed sawbuck legs joined by a straight-sided and pinned medial stretcher--27¾in. high, 30in. wide, 18in. deep

Provenance

Public sale, Ephrata, Pennsylvania

Exhibited

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Antiques Show, "A Palette of Pennsylvania Folk Art," April 6 - 10, 1976
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, The Heritage Center of Lancaster County, May 15 through November 1979

Engraved

Lot Essay

Evidence suggests oval tables of comparable form to the example illustrated here may have been used as writing desks. These forms frequently included a tapering drawer hung from runners on the underside of the top, now missing from Lot 79. For further information, please see John L. Kraft, "Furniture of the Ephrata Cloister," Journal of the Historical Society of Cocalico Valley, vol. III, Ephrata, Pa.: Historical Society of Cocalico Valley, 1978, pp. 35 - 58.