Lot 1504
  • 1504

RARE SHAKER PINE AND MAPLE MEETING-HOUSE TRESTLE TABLE, PROBABLY HARVARD, MASSACHUSETTS, CIRCA 1850 |

Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
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Description

  • Height 27 1/2 in. by Length 156 in. by Depth 37 1/2 in.

Provenance

Private Collection, New Hampshire;
Richard and Berry Ann Rasso Antiques, East Chatham, New York.

Condition

In overall fine condition. Wear and discoloration commensurate with age and use. There is a 2" by 2" patch to the top. There are several old tack-holes visible to the underside of the top, likely from previously mounted work tools. There are old holes and compressions to the stretcher along the bottom of the top and to the legs indicating that there was once a wrought-iron brace. The top has been moved approximately 1/4 from its original placement. There is a 6-inch long patch to the end of the stretcher that runs the length of the underside. IMPORTANT NOTICE: THIS LOT WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING OR COLLECTION AT 1334 YORK AVENUE AFTER FRIDAY, JANUARY 18 AT 5PM. THIS LOT WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE FOR COLLECTION AT CROZIER FINE ART, ONE STAR LEDGER PLAZA, IN NEWARK, NJ BEGINNING FRIDAY, JANUARY 25. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT SOTHEBYS.COM/PICKUP.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

This trestle table was likely used as a communal dining table at the Shaker community in Harvard, Massachusetts, which served as the bishopric seat. A very similar table of cherrywood made in Harvard in circa 1830 is in a private collection.1 Tables made in the Harvard Shaker community are distinctly different in design from counterparts made in other Shaker communities. They are characterized by having unusually thin bases that are shaped with one continuous curve from the toe to the end of the horizontal cleat; a trestle assembly of vertical standards that are flat in cross section with shaped, rounded edges; vertical members that are thru-tenoned into the arched foot with pointed toe and tenoned into the cross member above; and standards supported by a bridle joint into a heavy understructure of a longitudinal stretcher with shaped cross cleats screwed into the top. Most required an additional metal or wooden brace added sometime after construction, to support the bridle joint which served to be inadequate.

A trestle table of this type appears in a photograph of a Harvard interior that is in the collection of the Fruitland Museums.2 It shows two women seated at a table of this type set for a meal with six place settings.

1 See Timothy Rieman and Jean Burks, The Encyclopedia of Shaker Furniture (Atglen, PA” Schiffer Publishing, 2003): p. 357, fig. 535.
2 see ibid.