Thomas White
Dressing Table

Dressing Table

Public Domain

Dressing Table
MakerAmerican, 1730–1791
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Dressing Table
Datec. 1756–1776
Made inHertford (near), North Carolina, United States
MediumMahogany; southern yellow pine and Atlantic white cedar
Dimensions28 1/4 × 32 1/2 × 21 3/4 in. (71.8 × 82.6 × 55.2 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by the Theta Charity Antiques Show and Miss Ima Hogg, by exchange
Object numberB.87.12
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Queen Anne Sitting Room
On view

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

Thomas White was born in 1696 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, to a Quaker family, later moving to Perquimans County, North Carolina, and finally Northampton County, North Carolina. Historians conclude from strong stylistic clues that White apprenticed in Newport, possibly in the shop of one of Newport’s many Quaker cabinetmaking families. When White died in 1788 in Northampton County, North Carolina, his inventory included a workbench, glue pot, lathe, and joiner's patterns. Though there are clues suggesting his presence in Rhode Island, no conclusive evidence placing him there has been uncovered in Colony or town records. (See John Bivins, “Rhode Island Influence on the Work of Two North Carolina Cabinetmakers,” American Furniture [1999]: pp. 81–88; and Rhode Island Furniture Archive at the Yale University Art Gallery).




ProvenanceGeorge Horace Lorimer (1869–1937), Philadelphia; George Burford Lorimer (1908–1952), Philadelphia; […]; [Ginsburg and Levy, New York]; purchased by MFAH, 1987.
Exhibition History"Theta Charity Antiques Show," Reliant Astrohall, Houston, September 11–15, 2002.

"Theta Charity Antiques Show," George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, November 14–19, 2018.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
[no inscriptions]
[no marks]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Dressing Table
Unknown American
Dressing Table
c. 1760–1800
Mahogany; southern yellow pine, yellow-poplar, and Atlantic white cedar
B.58.147
scan from file photograph
Unknown American
Dressing Table
c. 1760–1800
Black walnut; red gum, Atlantic white cedar, yellow-poplar, southern yellow pine, and eastern white pine
B.69.527
High Chest of Drawers
Unknown American
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
Unknown American
Chest-on-Chest
c. 1760–1800
Mahogany; mahogany, Atlantic white cedar, yellow-poplar, white oak, and southern yellow pine
B.69.74
Image Not Available for Dressing Table
Unknown American
Dressing Table
c. 1740–1800
Black walnut; southern yellow pine, Atlantic white cedar, yellow-poplar, and spruce
B.66.15
Dressing Table
Unknown American
Dressing Table
c. 1730–1800
Soft maple; southern yellow pine and Atlantic white cedar
B.69.238
Side Chair (one of a pair)
Unknown American
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)
Unknown American
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
Unknown American
Side Chair
c. 1755–1800
Mahogany; southern yellow pine, Atlantic white cedar, and yellow-poplar
B.69.80
Eight-day Clock
Peter Stretch
Eight-day Clock
c. 1730–1740
Black walnut; southern yellow pine, eastern white pine, and Atlantic white cedar
B.86.4
Dressing Table
Unknown American
Dressing Table
c. 1760–1800
Black walnut; black walnut, yellow-poplar and Atlantic white cedar
B.69.78
scan from file photograph
Unknown American
Desk-on-Frame
c. 1730–1800
Black walnut; yellow-poplar, red oak, Atlantic white cedar, chestnut, eastern white pine, and black walnut
B.61.82