image of object
Photo: Courtesy Private Collection
Click the image to enlarge

Tilt-top table

Object number

RIF152

Maker

Maker, formerly attributed to John Goddard, American, 1723–1785
Maker Unknown

Dimensions

28 × 30 × 30 1/2 in. (71.12 × 76.2 × 77.47 cm)

Date

1740–80

Current location

Private Collection

Geography

Made in Newport, Rhode Island
(view a map of Rhode Island)

Medium

Mahogany (primary); maple or birch (secondary)

Marks

None

Inscriptions

None

Provenance

Unknown dealer, near Ann Arbor, Michigan; sold to private collection, by about 1972

Construction

The circular, single-board top has a raised, molded edge. The underside steps down slightly just inside the perimeter. Fixed to it with countersunk screws are two cleats with square, curvate edges and ogee, then quarter-round transitions from shallower to deeper portions. A rectangular block atop a ring-turned, tapering pedestal is doweled into the cleats, allowing the top to tilt and the table to sit against a wall when not in use. A shadow under the top indicates that a brass latch once secured the top to the block. The square, wedged top of the pedestal is visible in the top of the block. Three round-topped, flat-bottomed cabriole legs meet the flat-skirted bottom of the pedestal in joints covered by a three-armed metal plate held on with screws. There are prominent scribe lines on the underside of the legs, which end in shod snake feet. Notes compiled by T. B. Lloyd from photographs supplied by the owner.