Duncan Phyfe
Worktable

Public Domain

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Maker Duncan PhyfeAmerican, born Scotland, 1770–1854

CultureAmerican

Titles

Worktable

Date1813

Made inNew York , New York, United States

MediumMahogany; mahogany veneer, ebony, brass, and felt

Dimensions30 3/4 × 23 3/4 × 15 1/2 in. (78.1 × 60.3 × 39.4 cm)

Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by the W. H. Keenan Family Endowment Fund

Object numberB.2015.12

Current Location

Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens

Music Room

On view

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Department

Bayou Bend

Object Type

FURNITURE

DescriptionIn 1948, antique collector Edith Blum wrote a brief article about this worktable and how she came to own it. She told of a used furniture dealer offering it while it was still covered in a coat of white paint. Undeterred by the paint, she bought the table, but it was not until years later that she found the original 1813 invoice from Scottish-born cabinetmaker Duncan Phyfe tucked away deep inside. During the early 1800s, such worktables were used by women as small writing desks and to hold needlework materials.
ProvenanceMade for New York merchant James Kelso (1781–1842) and his wife, Leah Helen Henry Kelso (b. 1756); [...]; [unknown antiques dealer]; purchased by Edith (1907–1949) and Jerome W. Blum (1904–1998), c. 1942; inherited by his third wife, Selma Blum (1924–2017); consigned to [Northeast Auctions, August 15, 2015, lot 690]; purchased by MFAH, 2015.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

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Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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