A handsome and unusual French solid cherrywood farmhouse table, dating to approximately 1780–1820.
The table retains compelling evidence of its early hand construction. Its broad plank top is secured with hand-cut wooden pegs, while the untouched underside displays extensive adze and other hand-tool marks, left visible where there was no reason for the original cabinetmaker to expend time smoothing the timber. Irregularities in the boards and joinery, natural shrinkage between the planks, oxidation, and generations of accumulated wear further support a late 18th or early 19th-century date.
Most remarkable, however, is the table’s ingenious original construction. The entire tabletop slides lengthwise, revealing an enormous concealed storage compartment built into approximately half of the table below. Rather than a conventional drawer, this deep storage well would have provided convenient space for household and dining necessities such as linens, dishes, serving pieces or other provisions. Substantial wooden guides incorporated into the frame indicate that the sliding mechanism was conceived as part of the table’s original construction.
Warm, beautifully aged cherrywood, centuries of honest wear and an unusually clever piece of domestic engineering make this considerably more interesting than the typical French farmhouse table.
Dimensions:
W: 74″
D: 35″
T: 29.5″
