Sofa Table

Public Domain

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Images(7)

CultureAmerican

Titles

Sofa Table

Datec. 1815–1825

Made inNew York , New York, United States

MediumMahogany, mahogany veneer; eastern white pine, yellow poplar, cherry, and mahogany

DimensionsOpen: 28 3/4 × 55 1/8 × 27 7/8 in. (73 × 140 × 70.9 cm)
Closed: 28 3/4 × 39 1/2 × 27 7/8 in. (73 × 100.3 × 70.8 cm)

Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg

Object numberB.71.106

Current Location

Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens

Chillman Parlor

On view

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Department

Bayou Bend

Object Type

FURNITURE

DescriptionMany of the new, specialized forms of furniture of the early 19th century were intended for ladies engaged in needlework, writing, and reading. The sofa table was, as the name suggests, intended for placement in front of a sofa and was often, as in this example, equipped with a drawer outfitted with an adjustable, felt-covered writing surface and compartments for the storage of writing materials. The most distinctive feature in this example is the pair of gilt-winged caryatid figures (standing female columns). Derived from Roman prototypes, caryatids were introduced as furniture and decorative motifs in early 19th-century France under Napoleon’s rule, and soon became popular with New York cabinetmakers such as Duncan Phyfe.

Provenance[Ginsburg & Levy, New York]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, January 10, 1972; given to MFAH, 1972.
Exhibition History"Power, Politics and Style: Art for the Presidents," at the Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland, September 24, 2000–January 7, 2001 (LN:2000.5).

"American Made: 250 Years of American Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, July 7, 2012–January 2, 2013.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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