Tilt-top table

The serpentine shape of the top of this tilt-top table from around 1775-1800, was the second most popular tilt-top shape in eighteenth-century British America, following round tilt-tops. However, the creased legs add a regional element that relates to craft traditions of the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. Such creases appear in tables made by cabinetmakers in Boston and along the Essex County coastline and mimic examples found on English forms. The flanking knobs and central creases of the feet give the impression of claws without the costliness of fully carved ball and claw feet.

Boston, Massachusetts, 1775-1800
Mahogany

1977.76