Pier Table

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Pier Table
Datec. 1815–1825
Made inNew York , New York, United States
MediumMahogany and mahogany veneer; eastern white pine, mahogany, yellow-popolar, marble, mirror glass, brass, and gilt
Dimensions37 1/4 × 42 × 18 3/4 in. (94.6 × 106.7 × 47.6 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.67.29
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Metals Study Room
Exposé

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

While the marble-topped pier table had been known in America since the mid-eighteenth century, the form assumed new importance as a key piece of Grecian parlor furniture in the early nineteenth century. Often made in pairs and intended to be placed between windows, these tables incorporated classical elements, including columns and pilasters, and often mirror glass completed the back of the lower section. This type of pier table, with marble elements, does not appear in the New York price book of 1815, suggesting it was either a specialty item or a form not prevalent enough to be included. However, the 1833 Meeks broadside illustrates several versions, the basic form described as “mahogany pier table with white marble top and columns,” and indicates that the same table with black and gold “egyptian marble”‘ cost one-third more. Even so, with the marble elements, looking glass, and gilt bronze mounts, this piece represented an expensive and stylish piece of parlor furniture.


Technical notes: Mahogany, mahogany veneer; eastern white pine (table base, apron), mahogany (vertical side framing), yellow-poplar (carved feet), marble, mirror glass, brass, gilt.


Related examples: Two in the Empire Parlor at Winterthur are, like this example, relatively restrained in design (Sweeney 1963, p. 128); a slightly later pair has stenciled rather than ormolu decoration (Sack 1969–92. vol. 7, p. 1757, no. P4899); Anglo-American Art Museum, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge (Antiques 105 [March 1974], p. 470).


Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.



Provenance[Bernard Levy and George Subkoff, New York, by January 1967]; [Ginsburg & Levy, New York, January 1967–January 19, 1968]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, January 19, 1968; given to MFAH, 1968.
Exhibition History

Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
[no inscriptions]
[no marks]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Writing Table and Bookcase
c. 1825–1835
Mahogany and mahogany veneer; eastern white pine, yellow-poplar, gilding, glass, and gilt-bronze mounts
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c. 1820–1825
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scan from file photograph
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Étagère
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1855
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c. 1820–1830
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Mahogany; eastern white pine, holly, yellow-poplar, brass, and mirror glass
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Painted and gilded mahogany; mahogany veneer, yellow-poplar, and eastern white pine
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c. 1805–1810
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Card Table (one of a pair)
c. 1805–1810
Mahogany and mahogany veneer; eastern white pine and brass
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Sideboard
Joseph Meeks & Sons
c. 1825–1835
Gilded mahogany and mahogany veneer; white oak, soft maple, ash, eastern white pine, and yellow-poplar
B.67.6