Tea Table

This table exhibits all the characteristic features of New York work. The baluster-shaped shaft is the most common of the three popular New York patterns, and the thick circular top is rimless. Though these are features that can be seen on a number of graceful tables and stands labeled by Thomas Burling (active 1769–1800), chair and cabinetmaker from New York, other evidence suggests that the table is of Albany manufacture: a knot in one of its legs implies rural work, as does the relative inelegance of its turned shaft. It bears the mark of Philip Van Rensselaer, whose father was a mayor of Albany. A table nearly identical to this one descended to the Albany Institute of History and Art from Johannes Knickerbocker, whose mansion was across the river from Albany.