Tea table
Unknown workshop
Ireland or Philadelphia; 1740−55
Mahogany, white pine, white cedar (original marble top replaced)
Museum purchase 1953.0093.001

This rectangular table, balanced on ball-and-claw feet and carved with curving scrolls and lobed shells, is an intriguing example of rococo furniture. It has three possible origins: made in Ireland, England, or in Philadelphia by an Irish-trained carver. Rococo furniture designs appeared in many of Britain’s colonies, and today’s experts struggle to identify origins when an artist or workshop is unrecorded. In 1953 the table was prized for its history of ownership at a Horsham, Pennsylvania, estate called Graeme Park. Scottish-born doctor Thomas Graeme (1688−1772) acquired the stone house and estate in 1737, but his family also likely used this elegant table for entertaining in their Philadelphia home.