Whether gracing the parlor of an urban town house or a country manor, a center table was an essential item in upper-class American residences through much of the 19th century. Supporting a lighting device, it became the gathering space for family activities at nightfall. Beyond mere function, however, a high-style center table, such as this elegant example, could also signal its owner’s fashionable taste.
Like the nearby side chair, the design of this Gothic Revival table is attributed to the eminent architect Alexander Jackson Davis. He included a number of medieval motifs: the bracketed apron with drops and turrets, suspended pierced tracery cage, three clustered columns, and tripod base. Its fine craftsmanship suggests that it was produced in the New York shop of Alexander Roux, a skilled émigré with knowledge of European cabinetmaking styles and techniques.
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