Attributed to Robert Harrold (American, born England, 18th century). <em>Tray-Top Table</em>, ca. 1770. Mahogany and mahogany veneer, 29 1/4 x 34 1/2 x 23 1/2in. (74.3 x 87.6 x 59.7cm). Brooklyn Museum, Matthew Scott Sloan Collection, Gift of Lidie Lane Sloan McBurney, 1997.150.16. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1997.150.16_PS6.jpg)

Attributed to Robert Harrold (American, born England, 18th century). Tray-Top Table, ca. 1770. Mahogany and mahogany veneer, 29 1/4 x 34 1/2 x 23 1/2in. (74.3 x 87.6 x 59.7cm). Brooklyn Museum, Matthew Scott Sloan Collection, Gift of Lidie Lane Sloan McBurney, 1997.150.16. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1997.150.16_PS6.jpg)

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What is this style called?

This tray-table is in the "Chippendale" style, after the London cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale, whose published designs were copied by furniture makers living and working in Colonial America.

Chippendale combined elements of various styles. The curved stretchers connecting the legs are in the Rococo style. But the legs themselves look like Gothic columns and the openwork carving in the corners is Gothic as well. Chippendale often incorporated Chinese motifs, although that is not seen in this particular piece.

Is the top solid mahogany?

The bottom is carved from solid mahogany and the tray top is veneered. If you look closely at the side of the tray, you will see "book match" veneering, where matching pieces of mahogany have been placed to create a mirrored pattern, like an open book.

Tray-Top Table

Decorative Arts

On View: American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, From Colonies to States, 1660–1830

Mahogany sourced from estates in the Caribbean was sent to ports along the Atlantic seaboard, including Portsmouth, New Hampshire. There, cabinetmaking workshops owned by British-born or British-descended settlers such as Robert Harrold of Portsmouth copied fashionable designs from England to produce furniture for wealthy white merchants and landowners.

MAKER Attributed to Robert Harrold, American, born England, 18th century

MEDIUM Mahogany and mahogany veneer

Place Made: Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States

DATES ca. 1770

DIMENSIONS 29 1/4 x 34 1/2 x 23 1/2in. (74.3 x 87.6 x 59.7cm) (show scale)

MARKINGS Yellowed paper adhesive label with a red border declares the piece as property of Mr. M.S. Sloan. On the underside of the piece "456.R" is written in chalk. On the right side of the piece, inscribed in red paint are the numbers "14-1924-21".

COLLECTIONS Decorative Arts

ACCESSION NUMBER 1997.150.16

CREDIT LINE Matthew Scott Sloan Collection, Gift of Lidie Lane Sloan McBurney

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Tea Table, tray top, mahogany and mahogany veneer, Chippendale style. Scallop-rimmed rectangular top and four legs joined by crossed arch stretchers with a pierced flame-shaped finial at the crossing. Undecorated apron of mahogany veneer with single bands of applied molding around the top and bottom. Pierced fretwork brackets support each leg at the top corner. The crossed stretchers themselves are made up of two opposing, molded C-scrolls. The outer sides of the rectangular legs are molded; the inner sides are chamfered along the edge. The four castors which are not original to the table have been removed.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, From Colonies to States, 1660–1830

CAPTION Attributed to Robert Harrold (American, born England, 18th century). Tray-Top Table, ca. 1770. Mahogany and mahogany veneer, 29 1/4 x 34 1/2 x 23 1/2in. (74.3 x 87.6 x 59.7cm). Brooklyn Museum, Matthew Scott Sloan Collection, Gift of Lidie Lane Sloan McBurney, 1997.150.16. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1997.150.16_PS6.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 1997.150.16_PS6.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2012

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

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Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

What is this style called?

This tray-table is in the "Chippendale" style, after the London cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale, whose published designs were copied by furniture makers living and working in Colonial America.

Is the top solid mahogany?