Refectory Table

A JOINED OAK REFECTORY TABLE

English, late 17th / early 18th century

The rectangular boarded top with moulded edge above a plain frieze, supported on baluster-turned legs joined by rectangular stretchers, with shaped spandrels pierced with heart motifs; of pleasing colour and surface.

Dimensions:

Tables of this type represent the enduring vernacular tradition of English oak furniture, combining robust construction with modest decorative detail. The pierced spandrels are an especially attractive feature, a motif found on West Country and northern examples of the late 17th century. Comparable tables with similar heart-shaped spandrels are illustrated in Victor Chinnery, Oak Furniture: The British Tradition (1979), pp. 390–393.

Provenance: apparently from the flower room of a Church in Lavenham, Suffolk.

Expected wear, scratches and stains to top; minor shrinkage splits; some old repairs and patches to stretchers and spandrels; overall stable and sound.