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Antiques & Collectibles

Help Identifying Antique Drop Leaf Table

8 years ago

Was purchased from Washington & Lee University a few months back. Just wanting to know the production date / value / maker etc. thanks so much!

Featured Answer

User

8 years ago

From any of the many manufacturers of semi-authentic furniture sold to and used to decorate public spaces.

If it's sturdy and can be cleaned up, it's a table, but it's just used institutional decoration, like the stuff you see at a Hilton or Sheraton hotel.

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Comments (11)

lindac92
8 years ago
It appears to be a very utilitarian gate leg table. Likely strong and sturdy. Looks to have been refinished and badly stained....streaky and un even. It's a good sturdy table but not a fine antique made by a famous maker.
chibimimi
8 years ago
It looks like "real" mahogany to me. Is the top veneered and, if so, how thick is the veneer?

Could we have pics of the underside, especially construction details and hardware?
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The pictures are out of focus andreally show very little of the table. But from what I see it is a rather run of the mill 1930 or 1940 Duncan Phyfe table with a missing leaf and a bad finish on the top. It appears to be mahogany veneer (most of those tables were)made by no one important. There were lots and lots of companies who made furniture, but very few Haywood Wakefields or Stickleys, or Kittengers. It's worth very little money. You would only be improving it if you refinisned it, it's not "antique" just used furniture. If you got a good price and are willing to spend the time, go for it, anything you do will help it. Linda C
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Wonderful table!!! Appears to be walnut...likely midwestern. Those tables with that grooved leg were made between 1880 adn maybe 1910...maybe even 1920. The difference in the finish is likely due to the table and 3 leaves being refinished and the other 3 leaves were not. Of course the rack is different wood, it was just for storage....not "furniture". I had it's twin.....but my daughter has it now. Loved that table....It could be a tiny little table in a small apartment, and you could flip a leaf up to eat on....or it could expand to fit a family of 6 or 8. I can't imagine what was patented....that sty;e table was fairly common in the day adn 45 years ago not unusual at farm sales. What kind of leaf support is there? And it appears as if a cleat has been added to the drop leaves to keep them from warping....likely when it was refinished. I saw a table exactly like that, with 5 leaves, oak, all refinished, leaves also redone....sold at a sale 3 weeks ago for $165. In my mind way too little....but it was a tag sale and didn't even sell the first day so the price must have been pretty close.
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The picture from the bottom does not show the cleat but only some nasty glue work. My urban legend take on this is someone was asked to repair the table. The glue job did not meet with wife's approval. Rather than doing it over or simply refinishing the probably drunken mind decided that since there was probably a table covering why not just sink a strap. Wife would still not be pleased but she could use the table. Given the color differences between the legs and top I am still not convinced that this was not a marriage at sometime in the past based on the color differences in the third picture from the top. The leg that swings has an attached board that is much darker than the board that it would swing against when closed. The leg on the far left matches the color of the table but the leg in the center and the far right do not. Even stranger to my eye is that the leg in the back the bottom portion of the leg matches the table but the upper portion does not. Some of the differences could be from sun bleaching.
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lindac92
8 years ago
I don't believe it's mahogany because I see areas of nicks and dings and the underlying wood appears to be very light. And that edge picture doesn't look like veneer to me ...but a picture of the hardware and the underside would help.
ecobourn1112
Original Author
8 years ago
It is veneered. Not sure of the thickness though.
Stocky
8 years ago
It's Mahogany , possibly Veneer , but I think it's solid . I can see the multiple boards in pix 2 . I can't see the underlayment for the veneer in the pix , it's just a bit far away to see it clearly .
The legs are solid Mahogany and the inlay / marquetry is very nice .
lindac92
8 years ago
Mahogany? In spite of the fact that where the stain/finish has worn away it is almost white?
voila
8 years ago
There appear to be small holes on the short side of the table top edge, or is it my imagination?
lindac92
8 years ago
Exactly, lazy_gardens.
Stocky
8 years ago
After looking at it on a computer and not my phone , I think the top might be cherry . Honestly it's hard to tell . The end grain on the boards in the second pix look like cherry . Still can't be 100% sure if it's solid or veneer . Either way It's a nice table .
PRO
Sombreuil
8 years ago
Nice satinwood accents and banding inlays. Definitely better than the current crop of institutional furniture. There were really cool pieces in the Brookings Institution after WWII as well.
I would like a better pic of the detail where you can see the end grain transitioning into the tabletop just where you can see a glue joint. Right now I would have to say by default it's veneer, until I can see the seam in the end grain and the face grain aligned.
Very light mahogany, where it's clear enough to tell (legs and apron).
Casey

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