Vigo County Historical Society

Historical Treasure Article

Historic Treasure of the Week - November 23, 1986
By Susie Dewey
Vigo County Historical Society

Ornate Victorian table center of attraction

The center table in the Victorian Parlor is one of the most beautiful pieces of furniture in the Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley.

The table is intricately carved and ornamented and is in perfect condition. Until recently, it was used in the Fairbanks Home for Aged Women. The home closed this year.

Sometimes called a parlor table, this marble-topped, mahogany piece became a center table in the 1800s when it became fashionable to move furniture away from walls. In the Victorian period, fashions in arranging furniture swept through society swiftly. Ladies' magazines contained stories, pictures and diagrams of the ways furniture should be arranged in fashionable parlors.

The table did not remain a true "center" table for long, however. The styles of arranging furniture changed in a few issues of the magazines. One advantage of such changes was that the carpet or rugs seldom were marked with footprints from the furniture. The term "center" table stuck to the oval wooden table with a marble top.

These ornately carved and scalloped tables originated in France in the 18th century. The rococo style evolved from the popular baroque styles of the time in France. The new style was a whimsical interpretation of the mainly classical designs, which were characterized by carved shells and S-shaped curves. The table in the museum is characterized by ornate scallops.

Some tables of the style and period were serpentine in shape and were known as turtle tops. Added to the spectacular shapes were decorated veneers, carvings, applied circles and hanging finials. In a maze of curving supports and legs below the table top, carved urns were set in a base. Such adornment was considered elite. A carved animal--such as the spaniel in the museum's table--provided added elegance. Any Victorian housewife would have been proud to show such a table in her parlor. The fussiness of the design would have attested to her impeccable taste and contemporary knowledge of furniture.

A major rococo revival occurred in America between 1840 and 1860. The most elaborate examples of the style were made by John Henry Belter of New York. He was the major innovator of the rococo revival. When authenticated, his work brings higher prices than any other work of the time.

A new technique for using laminated wood resulted in elegantly carved furniture that was more elaborate than contemporary European.

Such an elegant table as the one in the Victorian parlor surely belonged to a family of affluence and social prominence.

Not all tables were made of mahogany. Belter also worked with rosewood, cherry and walnut. These native American woods in no way limited the exaggerated curving shapes and the life-like rendering of flowers and animals. The spaniel at the base of this table looks as if he could bark at intruders.

The rococo style of Renaissance Revival lasted until about 1870. Then the ladies' magazines began to decree other arrangements and other styles of furniture for the parlor. The center table at the museum preserves an elegance of the rococo revival.

The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday through Friday.