Square Joined Table, 1680—1700
Oak and maple
Lent by a private collection
The Symonds joiners made tables with sharp-edged reel turnings on the posts
and stretchers. These are executed in maple and were quite fashionable by
English standards. Reel turnings were introduced in England in the 1660s.
A number of upholstered chairs by the Symonds have these turnings. A second-generation
joiner of the tradition, Samuel Symonds (1638—1722), trained the son
of the Rev. Joseph Capen to be a joiner about 1700. Capen was the original
owner of the chest of drawers in this exhibition. Symonds made the ten-foot
pulpit of Capen’s meetinghouse in 1682.
Cupboard,
1685—90
Ipswich or Newbury, Massachusetts
Oak, maple, and pine
Lent by Massachusetts Historical Society,
Gift of Mrs. John B. Paine
This cupboard, now known as the "Paine cupboard," descended from the
Sawyer family of Newbury. It is perhaps the most spectacular of all the cupboards
and certainly one of the most intact and heavily decorated ones. From a technical
standpoint, it is unusual that the Paine cupboard incorporates both riven and
sawn oak and sawn pine. Because the cupboard’s two cases have never been
disassembled for repairs, it is clear that the pillars of the lower case were
originally inserted with the larger ends below, rather than above, as in other
cupboards. The pillars are derived from classical vases, which were a favorite
design challenge for woodturners.
