Card Table

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Card Table
Datec. 1820–1825
Made inNew York , New York, United States
MediumMahogany, mahogany veneer, rosewood, and ebony; yellow-poplar, cherry, eastern white pine, and brass
DimensionsOpen: 28 3/4 × 36 × 36 in. (73 × 91.4 × 91.4 cm)
Closed: 29 5/8 × 36 × 18 in. (75.2 × 91.4 × 45.7 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.68.32
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Chillman Parlor
On view

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

While the vigorously carved winged paw feet with acanthus leaf of this example conform to many New York-made card tables of the Grecian period, the combination of the swan-necked griffin-head terminals of the lyre and the concave lobate shell at the lyre’s base is unusual. The hexagonal stretcher joining the two lyre elements is distinctive. Subtle details such as the brass stringing on the edge of the top, the brass and ebony crossbar at the top of the lyre, the ebony banding at the base of the skirt, and the cross-banding on the top surface all indicate that this was an expensive piece of furniture.

Technical notes: Mahogany, mahogany veneer, rosewood (banding), ebony (crossbar); yellow-poplar (bottom board), cherry (cross braces), eastern white pine (front apron framing), brass.

Related examples: A sewing table, labeled “Michael Allison 1823,” has a very similar griffin-headed lyre (McClelland 1939, p. 195, pl. 179); Davidson and Stillinger 1985, p. 149, fig. 232.

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[John S. Walton (1907–1985), New York, probably late 1950s]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, 1968; given to MFAH, 1968.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
[no inscriptions]
[no marks]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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

Worktable
c. 1810–1820
Mahogany and mahogany veneer; yellow-poplar, eastern white pine, cherry, and original brass casters
B.69.391
Sofa Table
c. 1815–1825
Mahogany, mahogany veneer; eastern white pine, yellow poplar, cherry, and mahogany
B.71.106
Card Table
c. 1820–1830
Grained, painted, and gilded mahogany, and birch; mahogany veneer on eastern white pine with black walnut banding, ash, eastern white pine, cherry, and original brass casters
B.68.31
Étagère
John Henry Belter
1855
Rosewood and rosewood veneer; black walnut, mahogany, eastern white pine, yellow-poplar, undetermined exotic wood (possibly eucalyptus), marble, and mirrored glass
B.81.9.10
Square Piano
Gibson & Davis
c. 1810–1815
Painted and gilded mahogany, mahogany veneer, satinwood, soft maple, and holly; yellow-poplar, holly, beech, basswood, cherry, soft maple, eastern white pine, hemlock, mahogany, and ash
B.57.4
Writing Table and Bookcase
c. 1825–1835
Mahogany and mahogany veneer; eastern white pine, yellow-poplar, gilding, glass, and gilt-bronze mounts
B.82.4
Center, or Loo, Table
c. 1825–1835
Painted and gilded mahogany; mahogany veneer, yellow-poplar, and eastern white pine
B.67.7
scan from file photograph
c. 1815–1825
Mahogany, mahogany veneer, and yellow-poplar; eastern white pine, mahogany, paint, and gilt
B.67.31
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
Pier Table
c. 1815–1825
Mahogany and mahogany veneer; eastern white pine, mahogany, yellow-popolar, marble, mirror glass, brass, and gilt
B.67.29
Desk and Bookcase
c. 1745–1780
Mahogany; mahogany, eastern white pine, yellow-poplar, and black cherry
B.69.363
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