Rare Early 18th Century Welsh Oak Farmhouse Dining Table

Name: Rare Early 18th Century Welsh Oak Farmhouse Dining Table
Brand: Antique
SKU: SA858381
Availability: SoldOut

18th century

Sold by Havard and Havard

Description

“Barn fresh” is an oft used term in the antiques trade to describe a piece that has “emerged” onto the market after a long period of neglect. This rather splendid table could accurately be described as such, having been covered and stored in a barn, thankfully, on the bed of a trailer, (which is the reason the feet are intact).

A table of almost identical form and from the same locality, known in my family as “y ford ddu” or “the black table”, suggesting a rich, dark colour, wasn`t as fortunate. My late father consigned that table to a damp outbuilding where it stood for over twenty years and where it was eventually reduced to a wreck.

The substantial, inch and a half thick, three plank, cleated top has a series of pegged “biscuit” tenons and a surface that suggests repeated scrubbing. The six legs are all chamfered with soft ogee stops.

There would have been a drawer at each end, a feature I have never before seen on a Welsh table of this six-legged form. The central, high, transverse stretcher appears to be original, again, a rather unusual detail.

A simple, scratch moulding around the lower edge of the frieze, on all sides, is the only decoration on this appealingly “spare” design.

Physical Dimensions

Height

83cm (32.68")

Width

278cm (109.45")

Depth

85cm (33.46")

Declaration

Havard and Havard has dated this piece to the 18th Century.

Reference Numbers

Sellingantiques Reference

SA858381

Description

“Barn fresh” is an oft used term in the antiques trade to describe a piece that has “emerged” onto the market after a long period of neglect.

“

This rather splendid table could accurately be described as such, having been covered and stored in a barn, thankfully, on the bed of a trailer, (which is the reason the feet are intact).

Havard and Havard

fig 1. Rare Early 18th Century Welsh Oak Farmhouse Dining Table

A table of almost identical form and from the same locality, known in my family as “y ford ddu” or “the black table”, suggesting a rich, dark colour, wasn`t as fortunate. My late father consigned that table to a damp outbuilding where it stood for over twenty years and where it was eventually reduced to a wreck.

fig 2. Rare Early 18th Century Welsh Oak Farmhouse Dining Table

The substantial, inch and a half thick, three plank, cleated top has a series of pegged “biscuit” tenons and a surface that suggests repeated scrubbing. The six legs are all chamfered with soft ogee stops.

fig 3. Rare Early 18th Century Welsh Oak Farmhouse Dining Table

There would have been a drawer at each end, a feature I have never before seen on a Welsh table of this six-legged form. The central, high, transverse stretcher appears to be original, again, a rather unusual detail.

A simple, scratch moulding around the lower edge of the frieze, on all sides, is the only decoration on this appealingly “spare” design.