Monumental Pier Table, about 1815–20
Attributed to [Isaac] Vose (1797–1823) & [Joshua] Coates (1774–1819) Boston (active 1804–19)
or
Isaac Vose & Son, Boston (active 1819–25)
Mahogany, partially ebonized (secondary woods: mahogany), with ormolu mounts, die-rolled gilt-brass moldings filled with lead, marble, and mirror
36 1/2 in. high, 50 1/2 in. wide, 25 3/8 in. deep overall
Inscribed (on underside of marble): J.Q. Adams / A.H. Davenport [twice]; (on back of central mount): CO
Although this table displays many of the features that specifically define a high-style Boston Neo-Classical aesthetic about 1815-20, it departs from the norm in its unusually large scale. Considerably wider and deeper than most pier, or console, tables of the period, it was presumably made for an uncommonly grand residence or possibly even a public building.
The flattened bun feet, ebonized and encircled by bands of die-rolled gilt-brass moldings filled with lead, are a signature element of Boston furniture of this moment and have been seen on a variety of pier tables, work tables, center tables, chests of drawers, etc., some of which have appeared with the stenciled labels of Emmons & Archibald, Vose & Coates, and Isaac Vose & Sons. Indeed, the superb quality of this piece suggests that it must have originated in one of the best cabinetmaking establishments in Boston at the time, most likely, according to Boston scholars Robert Mussey and Clark Pearce, that of Vose & Coates, who were active from 1804 to 1819.