A large dining-table of the same construction is shown in Figure 721. The legs are cabriole and terminate in the animal's claw and ball feet, and on the legs are carved acanthus leaves. This table is of mahogany and can seat eight to ten people.

Figure 721. Drop-Leaf Table, second quarter eighteenth century.

Drop-Leaf Table, second quarter eighteenth century.

Figure 722 shows a rectangular table of the same sort made of walnut. The legs swing in the manner last described and the top is large enough to seat eight persons. The skirt at the ends is cut in cyma curves and a half circle. The corners of the top are cut in a double ogee curve. The legs are cabriole and terminate in bird's claw and ball feet. This table is in the writer's possession.

Figure 723. Twelve-Sided Table, drop leaves, second quarter eighteenth century.

Figure 724. Drop-Leaf Table, second quarter eighteenth century.

Figure 723 shows a twelve-sided table, the property of Mr. B. E. Helme, of Kingston, Rhode Island. Two of the legs swing out in the manner of the tables now under discussion and are straight, terminating in Dutch feet. This form of leg is found almost exclusively in Rhode Island. The writer has seen all sizes and descriptions of tables of this period in that State with the same sort of leg. At either end of the table the skirt is cut in a circular design rarely met with. This table is made of walnut and was probably intended to be used as a dining-table.

Figure 725. Rectangular Table, about 1750.

An oval table is shown in Figure 724 and is the property of the Tiffany Studios, of New York. The legs are cabriole, with a carved shell on each knee, and terminate in bird's claw and ball feet. The skirt at the ends is cut in cyma curves and a half-round.

Figure 725 shows a rectangular table, the top of which is a large slab of wood fastened to the frame with wooden pegs in a manner similar to that shown in Figure 676. There are three drawers on the side, and the piece stands on cabriole legs terminating in angular Dutch feet. The wood is walnut. As to the use to which this table was put, the reader is referred to the discussion on the subject under Figure 676. This piece is the property of Mr. Dwight M. Prouty, of Boston.

A very small table, the property of the writer, is shown in Figure 726. When the leaves are raised the top is two feet three and one-half inches in diameter. The legs are cabriole, terminating in Dutch feet, and the skirt at either end is cut in a half circle.

Figure 726. Drop-Leaf Table, third quarter eighteenth century.

Figure 727. Three-Legged Drop-Leaf Table, third quarter eighteenth century.

Figure 727 shows an interesting three-legged table, the property of the late Mrs. Frank H. Bosworth, of New York. There is one leaf which is held in place by a pull, making a round top. The legs are slightly cabriole and terminate in Dutch feet.

A few tables are found in this country where the cabriole legs are raked in the manner of the turned tables of the earlier period.

Oak Table Frame with bandy legs, first quarter eighteenth century.

Figure 729. Tea-Table, about 1725.

Figure 728 shows a frame of one of these tables in the writer's possession. It is made of oak and is perfectly plain, and probably represents an early example of the style. The wooden top is missing.

Tea-tables were popular throughout this period. The earliest record we find in the inventories was at New York in 1705, one at Philadelphia in 1720, and one at Boston in 1732. They were of two varieties, those having four cabriole legs and those on tripod bases.

The first of these varieties was made in two ways, those having a deep skirt and those having a shallow one, and these in turn are subdivided into those having a flaring skirt and those having a straight one.

The first type is shown in Figure 729. The top is rectangular with a raised moulded edge applied. The skirt is cut in sections of a circle. The legs arc cabriole, terminating in Dutch feet. This table is in the Bolles Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Figure 730 shows another tea-table of this type, the property of the late Miss Esther Bidwell, of Wethersfield. It differs from the preceding one only in the cut of the skirt, which in this example is entirely in cyma curves instead of sections of a circle.

Another example of this type of tea-table in the Bolles Collection is shown in Figure 731. The raised edge of the top is missing. The skirt is cut in a double series of cyma curves and a half circle. The cabriole legs terminate in Dutch feet with a shoe below.

Tea-Table, about 1725.

Figure 731. Tea-Table, about 1725.