Lot Essay
Featuring a rectangular tray top and slender squared cabriole legs ending in slipper feet, this well-proportioned tea table is a classic Newport form. It is distinguished from most other tables of the type by the design and construction of the top molding and lack of knee returns. The top fits into rabbets within the frame and does not extend under the molding, which has an integral lower beaded edge, an effect more typically achieved by having the top project underneath the molding. Enhancing the depth of the top molding, this joining method creates a more balanced design. Furthermore, the maker of this table chose to omit knee returns and, in order to ease the transition from the leg to the molded skirt, shaped the upper cabriole sections of the legs with gentle s-shaped curves. Only one other table is known with legs shaped in lieu of knee returns and it features c-shaped curves (Israel Sack, Inc., American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, vol 1, p. 166, no. 440; see also Christopher P. Monkhouse and Thomas S. Michie, American Furniture at Pendleton House (Newport, 1986), pp. 133-135).