{"product_id":"two-tier-mahogany-dumbwaiter-table-scalloped-pie-crust-edges-on-a-turned-baluster-column-and-reeded-tripod-base-american","title":"Vintage Two-Tier Mahogany Dumbwaiter Table, Scalloped Pie-Crust Edges on a Turned Baluster Column and Reeded Tripod Base, American, c. 1925–1950","description":"\u003ch3\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eTwo round mahogany tops stacked one above the other on a single turned column, standing on three legs that sweep out to the floor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eBoth tiers are edged in the same way: a shaped border that rises and falls in a continuous run of scallops, moulded into the solid edge rather than applied. It is the profile furniture people call pie-crust.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe timber is worth looking at. The upper tier carries a tight ribbon stripe running straight across it; the lower is broader and quieter, with a long feathered figure sweeping through the middle of the board.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eBetween and below them runs a turned baluster column — a swelling vase shape above, a second below, separated by crisp turned rings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe base is a tripod: three legs curving out and down in a long sabre line, each one carrying a reeded moulding along its outer face that follows the whole curve, finishing in a small shaped foot.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eTurn it over and the construction is plain to see. Each tier is held by a rectangular wooden cleat let across the underside and screwed through, with the column socketed into it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003ch3\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe form is called a dumbwaiter, and the name is literal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eTiered stands of this kind appeared in English dining rooms in the middle of the eighteenth century for a specific social reason: to let a dinner party proceed without servants standing in the room. Dishes, decanters, glasses and plates were loaded onto the tiers in advance, the stand was wheeled or carried to the table, and the household staff withdrew. The furniture did the waiting — hence dumb waiter, a servant that cannot overhear. Conversation at table got a great deal freer as a result, which was rather the point.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe tripod-and-column base is the other eighteenth-century inheritance. A three-legged base stands steady on an uneven floor in a way four legs never will, which is why every tea table, candle stand and dumbwaiter of the period is built this way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThis table belongs to the long American revival of those forms rather than to the eighteenth century itself, and the construction says so: solid boards with a machine-moulded scalloped edge, a turned column, and tiers fixed by screwed cleats. American factories produced dumbwaiters, tilt-tops and pie-crust tables in enormous numbers through the first half of the twentieth century for houses that wanted the look of Georgian furniture at a price a normal household could reach.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eMachine work is not evidence of a late date and the absence of a label is not either — a great deal of good furniture left the bench unmarked, and paper labels fall off. The date comes from the design and the joinery, and the two agree with each other.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe reeded sabre legs and the ring-turned baluster column are the Duncan Phyfe revival vocabulary of the American mahogany trade between the wars. The construction matches: each tier is carried on a rectangular cleat screwed across the underside with the column socketed into it, which is revival-trade practice rather than the birdcage and iron spider plate an eighteenth-century dumbwaiter would have had. On that evidence it is offered as c. 1925–1950: an American two-tier mahogany dumbwaiter table in the Georgian revival tradition, unattributed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eObject\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eTwo-tier dumbwaiter table in mahogany\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDimensions\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eApproximately 29 in tall; lower tier approximately 18 in across, upper tier approximately 13 in across\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eForm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eTwo circular tiers with moulded scalloped pie-crust edges, carried on a turned baluster column over a tripod base of three reeded sabre legs with shaped feet\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eConstruction\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSolid tops with the scalloped edge moulded into the board; each tier secured by a rectangular cleat let across the underside and screwed through, with the column socketed into it\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eTimber\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMahogany — tight ribbon stripe across the upper tier, broad feathered figure through the lower\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMarks\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eNone. No maker's stamp, brand or label on any surface. Offered unattributed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ec. 1925–1950. The reeded sabre legs, the ring-turned baluster column and the scalloped tiers are the Duncan Phyfe revival vocabulary of the American mahogany trade between the wars. The joinery agrees with the design: each tier is carried on a rectangular cleat screwed across the underside with the column socketed into it, which is revival-trade construction rather than the birdcage and iron spider plate of an eighteenth-century dumbwaiter.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eStructurally sound and ready to use. The table stands firm and level on all three feet, both tiers are tight to the column with no wobble, and the cleats and screws underneath are secure. The finish is glossy and the figure reads well on both tops. There is honest surface wear: scattered fine scratching across both tiers, a few small pale flecks on the lower top, and losses and darkening along the moulded scalloped edges in places, heaviest on the upper tier. The reeding on the legs shows finish wear along its high points and at the feet. No breaks, no splits, no repairs and nothing loose. Condition Guaranteed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eAvailability\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOne of a Kind — 1 Available\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\n  \u003ch3\u003eWhy It Belongs in Your Home\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThis is a small table that holds twice what its footprint suggests, which is the whole reason the form was invented.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eEighteen inches of floor gives you two surfaces instead of one. Beside a chair it takes a lamp on top and books below; beside a bed, a glass above and everything else underneath; in a hall, keys on the upper tier and post on the lower.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eIt is also genuinely good at what it was built for. Loaded with glasses, a decanter, ice and napkins, it works as a drinks stand you can put where the party is rather than where the furniture is. That is the original brief and it has not aged.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe scalloped edges do real work. A plain round top reads as a disc; a shaped edge catches light along its whole circumference and gives the table an outline even in a dark corner. It is the difference between furniture and a surface.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eAnd the tripod is the practical detail nobody notices until they need it. Three feet sit flat on a floor that is not, which is why these do not rock on old boards, tile or a rug edge the way a four-legged table does.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe mahogany carries the room. Warm red-brown with a long figure through the lower top, it sits with leather, brass, painted walls and old rugs, and it is dark enough to anchor a corner without bulk.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eIt is a useful object for a photographer or a shop, too — two round tiers at different heights make an excellent stand for showing small things, which is a job it does better than anything purpose-built.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eA note on care. Keep it out of direct sun, which fades mahogany unevenly and will lighten one side of a top.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eUse coasters and do not set anything wet on it. The finish is original and a water ring in old shellac or lacquer is the hardest mark to get out.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eDust with a soft dry cloth and feed it once or twice a year with a good paste wax rather than a spray polish. Silicone sprays build a haze that is difficult to remove and interferes with any future refinishing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eLift it by the column or the lower tier, never by the upper tier alone. The upper top is carried on one cleat, and that is where the leverage goes.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viridian Eclection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48061148987497,"sku":"VE-0785","price":285.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/0093\/9369\/files\/IMG_2525.jpg?v=1789448046","url":"https:\/\/viridianeclection.com\/products\/two-tier-mahogany-dumbwaiter-table-scalloped-pie-crust-edges-on-a-turned-baluster-column-and-reeded-tripod-base-american","provider":"Viridian Eclection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}