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Cherry Tip and Turn Tea Table, Connecticut c. 1780-1790, Attributed to Aaron Chapin
As a beverage, a stimulant, a ritual, and a symbol of hospitality, tea was an important civilized pleasure in the 18th century. This period tea table is simple, elegant and functional; having a round top that both tilts and turns. The top is attached to two reeded cleats connected to a bird-cage support that turns freely, allowing the host to pour the tea and then rotate the table to serve her guests. The top also tilts to a vertical position, so the table could be stored against a wall when not in use. The three legs terminate in padded platform feet and are each dovetailed into a turned columnar pedestal, which features chip carving at its base.
Aaron Chapin (1753-1838) was the second cousin of Eliphalet Chapin, and the two worked together in East Windsor, Connecticut from 1774-1783. Aaron then went on to establish his own shop in Hartford, which operated until the 1830’s. During the 1790’s, Hartford emerged as the leading furniture-producing center for the region, and Aaron Chapin was the number one furniture-maker in Hartford in terms of longevity, and the quality of his work rivaled that of the New York makers.
Despite both cousin’s reluctance to sign a piece of furniture, the Chapin aesthetic is unmistakable, and the two cousins are credited with arguably the finest line of period rural furniture ever produced in America. With its low stance, rounded, splayed Cabriole legs, and attention to detail, this table exhibits the hallmarks of Aaron Chapin’s best work.
Dimensions: 27" tall, 31 1/2" diameter.
Research Resources: Kugelman, Thomas P., Alice Kugelman, with Robert Lionetti. Connecticut Valley Furniture Eliphalet Chapin and His Contemporaries, 1750-1800. Hartford: Connecticut Historical Society Museum, 2005.
Heneberry, Mike. The Little Black Book of Tea. White Plains: Peter Pauper Press, Inc. 2006. | ||
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Silvermine Antiques - New Canaan, CT | ||
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Copyright 2006 Silvermine Antiques. All Rights Reserved. | ||
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