Art Institute of Chicago

Card Table

Date

1819–25

Medium

Mahogany, satinwood veneer, iron and brass

Culture

Boston

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Because few pieces of classical furniture from Boston are labeled, scholars have relied on histories of ownership to make claims about furniture made there. This card table, whose style is unique to Boston during the early 19th century, can be firmly traced back to the Lyman family, Bostonians who summered in Newport, Rhode Island. And, although the table is not signed by the Vose firm, it features striking visual similarities to other pieces that are signed, and it bears consistent construction details, including a lavish use of mahogany as a secondary wood, that are characteristic of the shop of Issac Vose & Son, the Boston cabinetmaking firm that began when Issac Vose, Sr. (1767–1823), entered into a partnership with Joshua Coates (d. 1819) in 1805.

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