RARE QUEEN ANNE MAHOGANY TUCKAWAY TEA TABLE,Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1750

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Important Americana – Featuring Furniture and...

By Keno Auctions

Jan 24, 2020

Set Reminder 2020-01-24 15:00:00 2020-01-24 15:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Important Americana – Featuring Furniture and Folk Art from a Distinguished NY Collection https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/keno/important-americana-featuring-furniture-and-folk-art-from-a-distinguished-ny-collection-4838
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• Lot Description
  The two board circular dish top hinged to and tilting on a hinged fly-rail, which intersects a swinging fly rail at an X-fulcrum, the four cabriole legs mortised-and-tenoned and pinned to each of the respective rails, and each with projecting slightly peaked knees, slim ankles and ending in round pad feet with wafers beneath. The competent craftsmanship on this table, comprising a finely-turned dish top and graceful cabriole legs with fully round, crisp, un-peaked pad feet with disk below, would indicate a Boston or Boston area place of manufacture. The use of dense mahogany for the primary wood and soft maple for the secondary wood supports this attribution. Only six or seven of this type of table are known to survive today. The form was popular in mid-18th century Eastern New England, where many homes were built small to conserve heat, making space an important consideration. The design of the X-fulcrum on these tables (gates intersect and swing on a central fulcrum and when fully opened makes an X) is believed to be unique to American craftsmanship. The two other mahogany tuckaway tables are of almost identical size, proportion and construction to the present example and also exhibit two board tops and maple rails. Both have been attributed to Boston. The first, owned by Israel Sack in 1979 and recently repurchased by them (see American Antiques From the Israel Sack Collection, Volume VI, Alexandria, 1979, p. 1450, p. 4446) has an identical leg profile with slightly larger pad feet and a less pronounced molded edge on the dish top than that on the present example. The maple rails of both present example and Sack table also have an undisturbed contemporary red wash, as do the rails of the present example. The second table sold at Christie's in 1984 (see Highly Important American Furniture - The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh B. Cox, June 16, 1984, lot 436) and has a similar leg profile, but is lacking disks under the pad feet. All three tables exhibit typically Boston characteristics such as incised lines behind each pad and a small arched return on each leg and slightly peaked knees. Close comparison of the Israel Sack Inc. (in person) and the present table suggests that they were made in the same cabinetmaking shop. The three other published examples are made of native woods such as cherry and birch and have been attributed to New Hampshire. All three tables have two board tops above thin peaked cabriole legs and pad feet. The most widely published of this group is a cherry and birch example at The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (see Richard H. Randall, Jr., American Furniture in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1965, pp. 116-117, no. 83 and Albert Sack, Fine Points of Furniture: Early American, New York, 1950, p. 246). The top of the MFA table has a molding within a perimeter molding, a feature not found on the other two tables. The second, once owned by Israel Sack, Inc. (see Volume I, p. 196, no. 500 and Volume VIII, p. 2290, p. 876) has been described as of walnut and birch and exhibits small, peaked pad feet. The third table was in the Roland Vaughn Collection (see Wallace Nutting, Furniture Treasury, New York, no. 1297 and American Art Association Sale, New York, Nov. 14, 1931, lot 124) and has been described as being made of cherry and applewood (see Randall, p. 119) Dimensions: H. 26 3/4 in., D. 25 1/2 in. Medium: Secondary Wood (by microanalysis - Tom Quirk, 1992): True mahogany - top, legs and butterfly joints Soft maple - rails. Provenance: Descendants of Hannah Buxton of Haverhill, Massachusetts To a descendant Maria Louis of Philadelphia, Thence by descent to Helena Louis Beale, Thence by descent to her daughter, the previous owner Leigh Keno American Antiques, 1992 Distinguished New York Collection of American Furniture and Folk Art.

  Condition

  The two board top has been cleaned on both sides; the top side retains a mellow reddish-brown color with covering of old shellac that has partially deteriorated probably due to water damage. The two boards are secured together by two replaced mahogany butterflies set into the underside at the seam. As the five other published tuckaway tables all have these butterfly joints, it is possible that it is original to the table. The top has an old 7/8" by 1/2" patch approximately 4" from the seam. The underside of the top has an old 9/16" by 3 1/8" patch approximately 5" from the seam. Screw hole evidence suggests that the top has been attached to the fixed fly rail in two previous positions. The screw holes from the previous two settings have been filled at one time. The original setting of this top was such that the grain of the wood and the seam were in a vertical position when the table was in the folded state. (This setting is also found with the other known tuckaway tables). One hinge has been replaced. The other has one plate replaced and retains the original long straight plate with five holes. This plate has been repositioned and re-secured into the fixed rail so that the screws could be set in previously undisturbed wood. The old holes on this rail, which have been plugged, still remain and correspond to the spacing of the three holes in the plate. The holes on the underside of the top - from the screws that secured the first set of hinges to the top - are more closely spaced than the holes in the present hinge. Originally, each of the junctures of the legs to the rails were secured with one wooden pin. At some point, the wooden pins were replaced (except for one pin on one of the swinging legs) and the swing gate-leg junctures now have two wooden pins and the stationary rail-leg junctures each have one. The base is designed as an X-structure comprising a one-piece fixed rail (with hinges attached) and a laminated swinging rail, intersecting at a fulcrum, with respective legs attached at the ends of each rail. The swing gate rail was worked with a toothing plane to prepare the surface for lamination and planing marks are parallel to the grain on each face (which would be impossible if the rail were not laminated). This rail also has extensive worm damage - the infection probably was in progress prior to the assembly of the table. At some point, the central section of this rail was replaced and fingers of wood were spliced into the existing worm-eaten rail. When this repair was made, the central portion of the rail was slightly planed on two sides near the fulcrum to even out the surface - exposing longitudinal worm holes. A small strip of wood has been replaced on the bottom edge of one side of the swing rail. The stationary rail - with very little worm damage - has broken vertically at the fulcrum area. The pin is split vertically in four pieces and is probably a replacement. One of the legs on the swing-gate fly rail broke out at an early date and was repaired by replacing the top portion of the leg (where it meets the rail) and a small portion of each side of the knee. The original leg and replaced upper leg were attached to each other with glue. Small nails were added later in the knee for reinforcement. The inside of the other leg on the swing-rail has a 1 1/4" by 3/4" patch on the inside of the leg just below the knee. The knee return on the laminated leg is an early replacement. Thin wafers were added under the pad feet of each of the stationary legs and metal buffers were added under the pad feet of each of the other two legs (all four of which we removed).Minor abrasion to edges of dish top and pad feet. All observations in the above report correspond to a careful inspection of the piece by conservator, Alan Miller. Conservation undertaken (by Alan Miller): The top was rotated approximately 90 degrees - back to its original position. Hinge plates was made with holes for screws that correspond to the original plugged ones in the underside of the top. The worm eaten laminated rail was coated with a solvent to stabilize the deterioration of the wood in this area. The solid fly rail was re-glued at the split and the pin at the center of the fulcrum was replaced. The surface was lightly waxed.
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