GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Dressing tables were often made in conjunction with high chests. Placed in a bedchamber, the high chest held linens and apparel, while the dressing table contained smaller personal items such as combs, jewelry, hair ribbons, and cosmetics. In accordance with their function, looking glasses were commonly placed above and chairs in front of these tables.
This example is part of a large group of dressing tables which was made along the Connecticut River. Typical of this regional tradition are cabriole legs which bend only slightly at the knee, carved shells on the central drawer with a concave area below, and a widely overhanging top. However, those examples made up river in the Hartford-Wethersfield area usually have scalloped skirts and occasionally scalloped tops as well.
This particular dressing table relates most closely to a small group of furniture from the Lyme-Saybrook area at the mouth of the Connecticut River. Examples from this group are known which have virtually identical legs, knee responds, carved shells, and no upper rail, as here. The extensive use of mahogany in this dressing table also suggests a coastal Connecticut origin. Mahogany was easier to obtain on the coast due to the extensive shipping which occurred along Long Island Sound.
Adapted from
Charles L. Venable, American Furniture in the Bybee Collection, (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, published in association with the Dallas Museum of Art, 1989), 24.
NOTES
- moved Venable essay from "Curatorial Remarks" to a text entry in TMS
- provenance form in TMS changed to comply with Guidelines and Procedures for Provenance Display
- fun facts Adapted from: A typed letter from Cahrles L. Venable, Assistant Curator of American Decorative Arts, DMA, to Kevin Sweeney of Historic Deerfield, Inc., dated August 4, 1987.
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Artist/designers
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RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Before 1948: unknown
1948-1954: John Walton, Inc., Riverside, Connecticut
1954-1985: The Faith P. and Charles L. Bybee Collection, Houston, Texas
From 1985: Collection of the Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from Faith P. and Charles L. Bybee
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is Charles L. Venable, American Furniture in the Bybee Collection, (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, published in association with the Dallas Museum of Art, 1989), 24.
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FUN FACTS
This dressing table is made of four different kinds of wood: the drops are probably mahogany replacements, the drawer fronts, top and case sides are solid mahogany, the legs are cherry, and the two medial front to back drawer dividers are sycamore. The rest of the drawers and supports are easter white pine.
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General Description
Dressing tables were often made in conjunction with high chests. Placed in a bedchamber, the high chest held linens and apparel, while the dressing table contained smaller personal items such as combs, jewelry, hair ribbons, and cosmetics. In accordance with their function, looking glasses were commonly placed above and chairs in front of these tables.
This example is part of a large group of dressing tables which was made along the Connecticut River. Typical of this regional tradition are cabriole legs which bend only slightly at the knee, carved shells on the central drawer with a concave area below, and a widely overhanging top. However, those examples made up river in the Hartford-Wethersfield area usually have scalloped skirts and occasionally scalloped tops as well.
This particular dressing table relates most closely to a small group of furniture from the Lyme-Saybrook area at the mouth of the Connecticut River. Examples from this group are known which have virtually identical legs, knee responds, carved shells, and no upper rail, as here. The extensive use of mahogany in this dressing table also suggests a coastal Connecticut origin. Mahogany was easier to obtain on the coast due to the extensive shipping which occurred along Long Island Sound.
Adapted from
Charles L. Venable, American Furniture in the Bybee Collection, (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, published in association with the Dallas Museum of Art, 1989), 24.
Fun Facts
This dressing table is made of four different kinds of wood: the drops are probably mahogany replacements, the drawer fronts, top and case sides are solid mahogany, the legs are cherry, and the two medial front to back drawer dividers are sycamore. The rest of the drawers and supports are easter white pine.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
- moved Venable essay from "Curatorial Remarks" to a text entry in TMS
- provenance form in TMS changed to comply with Guidelines and Procedures for Provenance Display
- fun facts Adapted from: A typed letter from Cahrles L. Venable, Assistant Curator of American Decorative Arts, DMA, to Kevin Sweeney of Historic Deerfield, Inc., dated August 4, 1987.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Before 1948: unknown
1948-1954: John Walton, Inc., Riverside, Connecticut
1954-1985: The Faith P. and Charles L. Bybee Collection, Houston, Texas
From 1985: Collection of the Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from Faith P. and Charles L. Bybee
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is Charles L. Venable, American Furniture in the Bybee Collection, (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, published in association with the Dallas Museum of Art, 1989), 24.
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