With our highest compliments Bay Colony Antiques takes the utmost pleasure in offering this remarkable late 19th century antique sawbuck dining table. We are constantly in pursuit of high quality primitive form dining tables for our clients with rustic interiors across the country and with respect to our current offering we feel that few if any examples currently on the market can contend with this table. Sawbuck tables are considered among the rarest forms of antique dining tables from rural settings and generally they do not exceed four feet in length as most early homes lack an abundance of interior space. Antique primitive tables designed to seat a large family gathering are regarded as farm tables in the five to six foot range or harvest tables as they approach six to eight feet in length. The largest antique harvest tables command a premium in the antiques market with the average price generally hovering around $5,000. Most of what we encounter today are contemporary reproductions made with antique floor boards for the tops and sit on turned legs. The true antique tables built for antique farmhouses were quite often left outside in barns for years and disregarded to the point of being beyond restoration. The understated brilliance of the sawbuck table form is the "X" shape stretcher which transfers stress through the table towards the ground and along with the continual stretcher spanning across the table length hardly any structural maintenance is ever required. Tables with turnings, stretchers, or common form leg bases always need attention from antique restorers every generation and those which are neglected typically fall into disrepair and are thrown away.
We had the great fortune to procure this table from a family with deep ties to Nantucket, Massachusetts. The table had been in their family since the late 19th century and their decision to part with the table was solely based around it being too large and stylistically different from their current home. We have been elated ever since owning it as the table is one of the rarest Massachusetts offerings we could ever hope to offer. Every aspect of this table is correct and true to the nature of a late 19th century farmhouse table. The top is comprised of old growth native pine with breadboard ends which counteract the seasonal expansion of the wooden top. The underside reveals the true age of the entire table and that the base and top are true to each other and not the handywork of a clever antique restorer. The oxidation lines and exposed bottoms of the table legs all reveal that every aspect of the the table is structurally correct and honest. The frame is reinforced at the leg and stretcher joints with hand forged rosehead iron nails that enhance the rustic antique charm of the table while also providing addition strength. At present we still have the antique meetinghouse bench which served as a companion for this table for generations. We do not anticipate having either item for long due to the high demand for each but did want to at least mention the existence of the companion bench for anyone interested. The sawbuck table measures 74 1/2" wide x 30 1/2" deep x 29 1/2" tall.
