Center Table
Datec. 1820 -1830
MediumBird’s eye maple, mahogany, white pine, and poplar
DimensionsOverall: 29 × 48 1/8 inches (73.7 × 122.2 cm)
Detachable top: 4 3/4 × 48 1/8 inches (12.1 × 122.2 cm)
Bottom: 24 1/4 × 40 inches (61.6 × 101.6 cm)
Credit LineBequest of Mary Telfair.
Object number1875.16
CopyrightThe images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextFulfilling her desire for “a small center table of the best bird’s eye maple,” Mary Telfair commissioned this Classical Revival table. This piece is an elegant example of early 19th-century furniture design, featuring large animal feet with scrolls and foliate designs, anthemion decoration on the pedastal, and heavily carved moldings around the base of the pedastal.
An unknown Philadelphia cabinetmaker made the fifteen curly maple side chairs and two sofas left to the museum by founder Mary Telfair. These items appear on her brother Alexander’s 1832 inventory, listed as “18 large maple chairs” valued at $70 and “2 sofas” valued at $35. This center table, valued at $50, and twelve additional “small” maple chairs valued at $40 likely completed the set. The location of the three missing “large” chairs and the dozen “small” chairs is unknown. Even without the complete ensemble, which probably filled the Telfair’s Drawing Room, the existing chairs, sofas and table provide a commanding visual reference to the Telfair family home soon after they moved into the new Regency-inspired abode. The exotic curly maple wood, a material frequently used among Philadelphia cabinetmakers, as well as the caned Grecian forms of the chairs and sofas, made this set of furniture quite fashionable.
