Dimensions: Width 34 ” x 20 ” or 34″ x 42″ open Height 28″
Maker: Unknown
Location: Found in Chestertown, Maryland, probably made in Baltimore, Maryland
Date: circa 1800
Commentary: This Pembroke table descended in the Barroll family of Chestertown, Maryland and likely dates to William Barroll who represented Kent County in the Maryland legislature during the 1790s. The table’s “neat and plain” design exudes a simple dignity and it is of a style and construction commonly found in work by Baltimore cabinetmakers. While at least one cabinetmaker, Charles Farrow, is known to have worked in Chestertown in this period, his few surviving pieces are much less refined than this example. (Winterthur DAPC File 94.170) A growing city with a thriving cabinet trade by the end of the eighteenth century, Baltimore artisans such as Levin Tarr and others produced tables of this popular form in some numbers. Depending upon the customer’s purse and preferences, tables were produced with varying levels of inlay work, wood quality, and additions such as spade feet.
The table is constructed primarily of a dense, golden brown mahogany and its two demi-lune drop leaves form a 42″ x 34″ oval when open. The top, of three solid boards, is attached to the frame rails with screws. The table stands on square and tapered legs that are mortised and tenoned into the skirt which is trimmed with simple cock beading. The inner frame is constructed of yellow pine while the outer frame and gates are of oak. Characteristically of Baltimore shop practices, a straight medial brace connects the frame members. The bowed ends of the skirt are cut from solid pieces of mahogany which are secured to similarly shaped solid end frame members of poplar (?). MESDA research files (S-10984) shows a similar table, also attributed to Baltimore, that descended in the Stump family of nearby Harford County, Maryland. (See also MESDA S-5959)
Condition: The table survives in excellent condition.
Price: Sold
Additional Photos
View from the side
View of underside
