Early 19th Century Antique English Pembroke Table

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Description

This lovely early 19th-century Pembroke table (also called a dropside or a breakfast table) appears to be made in Cherry … Read more This lovely early 19th-century Pembroke table (also called a dropside or a breakfast table) appears to be made in Cherry wood and stands on elegant, tapering cabriole legs. The top sits on a French-style base with a carved drawer in front and matching serpentine apron on the back side. An excellent space-saving opportunity, as the shaped leaf drops can be brought up or let down, depending on the use or occasion. It is beautifully crafted ... even the supports are decoratively carved, and the extra deep (22") single drawer is dovetailed and provides good storage. The patina is lustrous and warm. The curved decorative elements on this table are quite unusual and for that reason I would call it a rare find. In very good antique condition: narrow cracking on the table top and slight indentation in that area noted, see photo #10.

Open: 38.5"w x 28"d x 27.5"h
Closed: 22.5"w x 28"d x 27.5"h

Provenance: from the estate of Florence and Herbert Irving; Herbert was the founder of Sysco Corp. Much of their estate went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

“Florence and Herbert were drawn to objects that were inherently interesting or beautiful or important,” says Robert Kasdin, the former chief investment officer of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, who was friends with the couple for 30 years. “They were not trying to create a collection that would be a ‘definitive collection.’ This was a bottom-up appreciation of objects.”

As a result, the Irvings’ collection was never conceived as a single inviolable entity, and acquisitions were less about “filling gaps” than they were, simply, new additions. See less