Pembroke table
John Townsend
(American, 1733–1809)
1780–1800
Object PlaceNewport, Rhode Island
Medium/TechniqueMahogany, yellow-poplar, chestnut, maple, white pine
Dimensions71.8 x 93.3 x 85.1 cm (28 1/4 x 36 3/4 x 33 1/2 in.)
Credit LineThe M. and M. Karolik Collection of Eighteenth-Century American Arts
Accession number39.110
On View
Not on viewClassificationsFurniture
Collections
The stop-fluted legs, openwork knee brackets, and cross stretchers between the legs of this table are characteristic of related Pembroke tables attributed to John Townsend. Although British furniture designer Thomas Sheraton noted that Pembroke tables were "for a gentleman or lady to breakfast on," such objects--fitted with a drawer and with drop leaves supported by brackets--were used on any occasion for which a small table was required: playing cards, writing letters, or drinking tea (for which the Chinese-style fretwork on the stretchers lends an appropriate air).
ProvenanceRobert Powel of Newport, Rhode Island; purchased in 1937 for The M. & M. Karolik Collection of Eighteenth-Century American Arts.
About 1755–70
1760–70
about 1870–80
