In the Neoclassical period women played an increasingly prominent role in society. One means in which this change can be perceived is through the introduction of furniture forms. Of these the most novel is the worktable, often configured with a suspended fabric-covered bag. Thomas Sheraton, referring to it as a “pouch table” explained its use “by the ladies to work at, in which bag they deposit their fancy needle work.” In the United States its earliest recorded appearance is in the 1795 and 1796 Philadelphia and New York price books. Contrary to their delicate stance, these tables were often put into service for games, reading, drawing, and writing. The Bayou Bend table originally incorporated a writing board with adjacent compartments for an inkwell and writing accoutrements. Worktables were fashioned in a variety of shapes; this example, with its bold serpentine sides, possesses a vigor matched by few others.  

Technical notes: Mahogany, mahogany veneer; eastern white pine, mahogany (interior compartment dividers), hard maple (workbag bottom). The sides and backs are completely enclosed. The front legs are screwed to the table’s sides. The top drawer retains evidence of a hinged writing board, supports, and compartments. In the back is a cover lapped over the sides and nailed. The front portion of the lower drawer consists of one rectangular compartment flanked by two square ones, presumably for writing accoutrements, as evidenced by the ink stains. Battens attached to the skirt support the workbag. The hardware is original, and the workbag’s bottom may be as well.

Related examples: Most closely related is Sack 1969–92, vol. 4, p. 963, no. P3709. Tables with similar turned legs include Hipkiss 1941, pp. 128–29, no. 69; Sack 1969–92, vol. 1, p. 182, no. 475; Sack 1969–92, vol. 2, p. 321, no. 801; Sack 1969–92, vol. 8, p. 2247, no. P5795; Antiques 135 (March 1989), p. 580. Two others are labeled by Charlestown, Massachusetts, cabinetmaker Jacob Forster (1764–1838): Antiques 76 (September 1959), p. 183; Sack 1969–92, vol. 2, p. 498, no. 1207.

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.