Impressive Tea Table

The DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum in Williamsburg, VA houses a collection of fine furniture and ceramics from colonial America, including tall case clocks. One of the seemingly simplest but most impressive pieces for me is a hinged top tea table. According to a museum placard, the table is attributed to Daniel Barraud who lived and made furniture in both Norfolk and Smithfiled, VA across the mid-1700s. It is impressive both in terms of its size and craftsmanship. The 37" round top was carved from a single piece of mahogany (imagine the side of the tree), and though it is over 250 years old, the top is not cracked or split.