Table, tea table

By the middle of the eighteenth century, tea tables had become a common furniture item in the homes of middle class Londoners. Up until the late seventeenth century tea was still a luxury, with only the very weathy being able to afford it. As it became cheaper, tea drinking became a fashionable after dinner activity of the middle classes, particularly the women.

The plain design of this table indicates that it was used in a middle class home. The table features cabriole legs, a baluster stem and a plain top. Round three-legged tea tables of this type were popular throughout the second half of the eighteenth century. They were often designed to be tipped into a vertical position when not in use. Mahogany was first imported into England in the 1720s and came from the West Indies, especially Jamaica.