Dressing Table

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Dressing Table
Datec. 1760–1800
Made inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
MediumBlack walnut; black walnut, yellow-poplar and Atlantic white cedar
Dimensions29 5/8 × 36 × 20 1/2 in. (75.2 × 91.4 × 52.1 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.69.78
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Philadelphia Hall (Downstairs)
Exposé

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

The 1772 and 1786 Philadelphia price lists specify, for the majority of forms recorded, two price scales depending on whether the object was fashioned of imported mahogany or indigenous black walnut, the difference being 25 to 40 percent greater for the former.  Not only was mahogany the more stylish, it was also preferred, being easier to work, worm-resistant, and less likely to warp or crack. On occasion black walnut was substituted, presumably for reasons of economy. The Bayou Bend dressing table, with its well-executed ornament and figured facade, belongs to a small group of richly carved Philadelphia furniture crafted of native wood.

Book excerpt: Warren, David B., 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[William MacPherson Hornor (1897–1969), Philadelphia] who advertised its descent in Percival, Zantzinger, and Helmuth families of Philadelphia; [David Stockwell (1907–1996), Wilmington, Delaware]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, 1948; given to MFAH, 1969.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
[no inscriptions]
Branded on right drawer bottom: I. MAYBERRY [repeatedly branded]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

scan from file photograph
c. 1760–1800
Black walnut; red gum, Atlantic white cedar, yellow-poplar, southern yellow pine, and eastern white pine
B.69.527
c. 1740–1800
Black walnut; southern yellow pine, Atlantic white cedar, yellow-poplar, and spruce
B.66.15
scan from file photograph
c. 1730–1800
Black walnut; yellow-poplar, red oak, Atlantic white cedar, chestnut, eastern white pine, and black walnut
B.61.82
High Chest of Drawers
c. 1750–1780
Black-mangrove; black cherry, Atlantic white cedar, black walnut, yelow-poplar, and eastern white pine
B.69.64
Eight-day Clock
Peter Stretch
c. 1730–1740
Black walnut; southern yellow pine, eastern white pine, and Atlantic white cedar
B.86.4
Dressing Table
c. 1760–1800
Mahogany; southern yellow pine, yellow-poplar, and Atlantic white cedar
B.58.147
Desk
c. 1700–1730
Black walnut, undetermined burl veneer, and eastern white pine; eastern white pine, black walnut, yellow-poplar, cherry, Cuban oyster wood (Gymnanthes lucida), and chestnut
B.69.42
High Chest of Drawers
c. 1760–1800
Mahogany; mahogany, Atlantic white cedar, cedar, southern yellow pine, and yellow-poplar
B.69.75
Chest-on-Chest
c. 1760–1800
Mahogany; mahogany, Atlantic white cedar, yellow-poplar, white oak, and southern yellow pine
B.69.74
Side Chair (one of a pair)
c. 1755–1800
Mahogany; yellow-poplar, southern yellow pine, and Atlantic white cedar
B.69.77.1
Side Chair (one of a pair)
c. 1755–1800
Mahogany; yellow-poplar, southern yellow pine, and Atlantic white cedar
B.69.77.2
Side Chair
c. 1755–1800
Mahogany; southern yellow pine, Atlantic white cedar, and yellow-poplar
B.69.80