With our highest compliments and utmost honors, Bay Colony Antiques is extremely proud to offer for sale this fantastic 18th century antique Queen Anne Mahogany tilt top tea table. This is without a doubt one of the finest Massachusetts tables we’ve had the pleasure of offering in quite some time. The table was likely made in Newburyport and shares a number of similarities with known examples from Joseph Short’s cabinet shop. The table is made from the absolute best grade of Caribbean Mahogany. Caribbean Mahogany is the best in the world with unique mineral deposits and oil density that give it it’s dark striations and lustrous sheen. The best Mahogany that came into Massachusetts entered through Salem’s ports. The table has a substantial, old growth top, that's mainly one board. The tree would have been massive and if we were tasked with finding a similar board today it would be nearly impossible as Caribbean Mahogany was harvested to near extinction levels and the remaining trees are thankfully protected today. Furthermore, Mahogany doesn’t grow in dense patches, it grows sporadically and there’s usually only a couple of trees per acre. The top has an attractive swirling grain with a nice chatoyancy that makes the top glow.
The pedestal is well formed with a single ringlet at the top, and double ringlets above a compressed urn. The legs are well proportioned and taper in thickness down to a slender ankle with a pad foot. Our favorite and most unique design feature of the table are the subtle tendril carvings on the feet. We probably look at more antiques in any given week than anybody else on the planet. If you’re looking for a similar example, we sold another tea table with tendril carvings about 6 months ago and it should still be available to view on our site. The table is in very good condition with our only notes being an old repair at one of the ankles and an old repair to the top that was done properly and further strengthened by rotating the battens. The shape of the battens are consistent with the area & Short’s work along with the subtle curves where the legs meet the pedestal. When the top is flipped up like in our gallery image the table measures 33” wide x 21 1/2” deep x 47 1/2” tall. When the top is flipped down the table has a 33” diameter and is 28 1/2” tall.
