Antique tables
Hello readers today i received an email from one of my antique fan readers (one of you) saying that he wanted some information on antique tables. So here i will post infomration.
In this first post about antique tables you will find general information about it.
Two hundred years earlier, at the end of the 16th century, the dominant piece of furniture in this was still the long antique oak dining table directly descended from the monastic refectory table, but by 1800, popular pattern books were bulging witha multitude of different varieties and designs, some practical and neat, others downright fanciful.
Life was certainly reflected in the art of the table. The card table was an essential item for any civilized drawing room since a mania for cards and gambling had swept the kingdom during the early part of the 18th century. So much so that the Countess of Hartford lamented in 1741 that it was a mortyfing sight, that play should become the business of the nation from the age of 15 to fourscore.
More intelectual activities also prevailed, however, and the library was an important statement of self improvement and learning. Fine rooms demanded fine antique furniture, and the major makers and designers of the age, including Thomas Chippendale, Ince and Mayhew, and Thomas Sheraton, responded with notable and original pieces.
The other great room in any house was the dining room but, cuorisly, no designs for dining tables are included in the pattern books of the period, although there are many different types and styles available, from the intimate gatelg to the opulent four-pillar antique table.
In common with other areas of furniture, the descriptions given to some tables have varied over the years so that the names by which they are currently known may not really reflect their original use.
Hope you enjoy it! 