1970s Hand-Carved Chippendale-Style Walnut Console Table With Burl Walnut Top

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Description

A fully hand-carved console table in the Chippendale tradition, made by a Southern California craftsman from solid American black walnut … Read more A fully hand-carved console table in the Chippendale tradition, made by a Southern California craftsman from solid American black walnut with a figured black walnut burl top.

The design is pure mid-18th-century Georgian: cabriole legs with acanthus-carved knees and ringed ankles ending in ball-and-claw feet; a serpentine apron carved with C-scrolls, leafage and a central flower rosette; and a gadrooned, rope-carved edge framing the top. The ball-and-claw foot is traditionally linked to the ancient Chinese motif of a dragon's claw clutching a pearl.

ABOUT THE STYLE
Chippendale is named for Thomas Chippendale, the London cabinetmaker whose 1754 pattern book, The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, is widely credited with making him the first furniture maker to lend his own name to a style. Earlier styles, like Louis XIV and Queen Anne, were named for monarchs. Chippendale became the high style of colonial America, and period examples anchor collections like the Metropolitan Museum's American Wing and Colonial Williamsburg. It has been in continuous demand for more than 250 years.

FOR THE COLLECTOR
Chippendale's Director ran to three editions (1754, 1755 and 1762) and was used by cabinetmakers across Britain and the American colonies, which is why the style took root in Philadelphia, Newport, New York and Boston. Period American Chippendale furniture has brought some of the highest prices ever paid for American furniture at auction. A factory reproduction of this form is machine-carved and usually finished in a stained hardwood; here, the acanthus leaves, scrolls, rosette, gadrooned edge and each ball-and-claw foot were cut by hand, with the slight variations and crisp edges that only hand carving leaves. The ball-and-claw foot alone is one of the most demanding details a furniture carver can make.

AN HEIRLOOM AND A FUTURE ANTIQUE
Every carving was cut by hand, so no two of this maker's pieces are alike. Built with traditional joinery, it is made to be refinished and passed down rather than replaced, the same construction that keeps 18th-century originals in use today. Handcrafted, one of a kind and made in America, this table will increase in value over time as it becomes a true antique.

Ideal as an entry or foyer console, a behind-sofa table, a dining room server, or a statement piece in a library or office.

DIMENSIONS: 60" W x 20" D x 30" H
MATERIALS: Solid American black walnut; black walnut burl top
MADE IN: Southern California, USA
DELIVERY: Available to the San Diego and Los Angeles areas. Message to arrange. See less