Erik Kyle Gronning and Dennis Andrew Carr
Early Rhode Island Turning

American Furniture 2005

Full Article
Contents
  • Figure 1
    Figure 1

    Gateleg table, Newport, Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple with white pine and chestnut. H. 28", W. 59 1/8" (open), D. 48 3/8". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 2
    Figure 2

    Table, Boston, Massachusetts, 1700–1730. American walnut, European walnut, and fruitwood with white pine; slate. H. 27 1/4", W. 40", D. 25 1/8". (Courtesy, American Antiquarian Society.) This table originally belonged to the Reverend Nehemiah Walter (1663–1751) of Roxbury, Massachusetts.
     

  • Figure 3
    Figure 3

    Tea table, Boston, Massachusetts, 1700–1730. Mahogany. H. 26 1/2", W. 32 1/2", D. 21 3/4". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 4
    Figure 4

    Baluster design illustrated on pl. 94 in Augustin-Charles d’Aviler’s Cours d’architecture qui comprend les ordres de Vignole (1691). (Courtesy, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.)

  • Figure 5
    Figure 5

    Detail of a staircase in Harvard House, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, late seventeenth century. (Courtesy, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.) Built in 1596, this house was the boyhood home of John Harvard (1607–1683), founder of Harvard University.

  • Figure 6
    Figure 6

    Detail of the balusters leading to the gallery of the Seventh Day Baptist Meeting House, Newport, Rhode Island, ca. 1730. (Courtesy, Newport Historical Society; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) 
     

  • Figure 7
    Figure 7

    Baluster from the staircase in the Governor William Coddington House (demolished in 1835), Newport, Rhode Island, ca. 1641. (Courtesy, Newport Historical Society; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) This staircase baluster salvaged from the house likely dates to ca. 1730.

  • Figure 8
    Figure 8

    Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House, Newport, Rhode Island, ca. 1697. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.) One of the few surviving Newport buildings with details rooted in baroque classicism, this house has undergone extensive renovations during its history.
     

  • Figure 9
    Figure 9

    Detail of the staircase in the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.) This staircase was probably added during an eighteenth-century renovation.

  • Figure 10
    Figure 10

    Detail of a baluster from the staircase in the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.) This oak baluster was part of what was likely the original attic staircase.

  • Figure 11
    Figure 11

    Table, Newport, Rhode Island, 1700–1730. Maple with white pine, H. 26 3/4", W. 54 3/4", D. 28 5/8". (Courtesy, National Park Service, William Floyd Estate.) This table was originally constructed as a draw-bar table. The drawer is a later addition, the top is a replacement, and the feet are missing.
     

  • Figure 12
    Figure 12

    Details of the legs of the gateleg tables illustrated (from left to right) in figs. 1, 19, 21. The leg on the left is from a table in group one, the leg in the center is from a table in group two, and the leg on the right is from a table in group three. (Photos, Gavin Ashworth.)
     

  • Figure 13
    Figure 13

    Gateleg table, Newport, Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple with white pine and oak. H. 27 3/4", W. 60" (open) 21 1/4", D. 48 1/4". (Private collection; photo, P. Richard Eells.)

  • Figure 14
    Figure 14

    Detail of the drawer knob of the gateleg table illustrated in fig. 13. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

     

  • Figure 15
    Figure 15

    Detail of the drawer dovetail of the gateleg table illustrated in fig. 13. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 16
    Figure 16

    Drawing representing how the stationary legs of the table illustrated in fig. 1 are laminated, (Artwork, Wynne Patterson.)
     

  • Figure 17
    Figure 17

    Gateleg table, Newport, Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple with white pine. H. 28", W. 57 3/4" (open), D. 48 3/8". (Courtesy, Metropolitan Museum of Art, gift of Mrs. Russell Sage.)
     

  • Figure 18
    Figure 18

    Detail of the stationary leg of the gateleg table illustrated in fig. 17. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
     

  • Figure 19
    Figure 19

    Gateleg table, Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple with unidentified secondary woods. H. 27", W. 53 1/2" (open), D. 49 1/2". (Courtesy, Nathan Liverant & Son, Inc.)

  • Figure 20
    Figure 20

    Underside of the gateleg table illustrated in fig. 13. The rectangular hinges are positioned outside the frame and the gates pivot at the same end.

  • Figure 21
    Figure 21

    Gateleg table, Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple with white pine. H. 27 1/4", W. 41" (open), D. 49 5/8". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 22
    Figure 22

    Gateleg table, Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple with white pine and cherry. H. 28 1/2", W. 57" (open), D. 47 3/4". (Chipstone Foundation; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 23
    Figure 23

    Detail of the stationary leg of the gateleg table illustrated in fig. 22. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 24
    Figure 24

    Side chair, Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Ash. H. 49 1/2", W. 20 1/4", D. 15". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) The crest, finials, and bottom row of stretchers are replacements.

  • Figure 25
    Figure 25

    Gateleg table, Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple. H. 27 3/4", W. 59" (open), D. 47 1/4". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) The feet are replacements.

  • Figure 26
    Figure 26

    Detail of a wrought-iron hinge on the gateleg table illustrated in fig. 25.

  • Figure 27
    Figure 27

    Stool, Newport, Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple. H. 21 1/4", W. 22 1/8", D. 13 1/2". (Courtesy, Yale University Art Gallery, gift of C. Sanford Bull, B.A. 1893.) Although the lower ball turning is omitted, the rings and moldings of this stool are virtually identical to those on the gateleg tables in group one.

  • Figure 28
    Figure 28

    Stool, Newport, Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple. H. 22", W. 13 1/4", D. 23 1/4". (Courtesy, Winterthur Museum.)

  • Figure 29
    Figure 29

    Table, Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple. H. 25 7/8", W. 15 1/2", D. 26". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 30
    Figure 30

    Table, Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple with white pine. H. 29", W. 48", D. 29 3/4". (Courtesy, Sotheby’s Inc.)

  • Figure 31
    Figure 31

    Table, Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple frame. H. 22 7/8", W. 15 1/2", D. 23 3/4". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) The top is an incorrect replacement.

  • Figure 32
    Figure 32

    Table, Rhode Island, 1710–1740, Maple. H. 23 1/2", W. 20", D. 28 3/4". (Private collection.)
     

  • Figure 33
    Figure 33

    Gateleg table, probably Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple. H. 25 1/2", W. 53 3/4" (open), D. 42". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) The feet are replaced.

  • Figure 34
    Figure 34

    Gateleg table frame, probably Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple. H. 25 5/8", W. 15 7/8", D. 31 7/8". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) 
     

  • Figure 35
    Figure 35

    Gateleg table, probably Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple. H. 27", W. 53" (open), D. 48". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 36
    Figure 36

    Table, probably Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple with oak and white pine. H. 26", W. 24", D. 17". (Private collection; courtesy, Peter Eaton Inc.)
     

  • Figure 37
    Figure 37

    Candlestand, probably Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple. H. 23 3/4", W. 13 1/2", D. 13 1/4". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 38
    Figure 38

    Gateleg table, probably Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple. H. 27", W. 53 3/4" (open), D. 45 3/4". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 39
    Figure 39

    Candlestand, probably Rhode Island, 1710–1740. Maple. H. 29 1/8", W. 12 3/4", D. 12 5/8". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)