1747 Table

https://imgur.com/a/LuvdOvg

I stumbled across this remarkable and rather mysterious table (imgur album of pics linked to above, let me know if you can't seem them) a little while ago but my research into its history and provenance has yielded very little. So here I am on Antiquers. (The person who sold it to me had no information about it. I purchased it in a peer to peer transaction in a small city in costal New England.)

The table is 44x62x24. The bottom case, made of pine, is octagonal, with four real drawers and four drawer faces which don't open. The case rests on a sort of X base, also made of pine, all in heavy proportions. The legs touch the floor in 8 places, which is unusual and perhaps a clue. The drawer knobs, made of wood, are so interesting - they turn in place, raising a latch on the inside and securing the drawer! The top is some hardwood, maybe black walnut, and the finish is mostly all gone. The cracks in the surface of the wood have been stabilized along the edge by pieces of forged iron. There is a faint trace of narrow gold paint lines that once framed the drawers. The inlay is the most remarkable part. The middle of the table is inlaid A B | A B | 1747. The inlay circling the table reads as follows:

IHR ESSET ODER IHR TRINCKET ODER WAS IHR THUT SO THUT ALLES ZV GOTTES EHRE IN DER 1 CORINTH R 10.

A little research shows that this comes from the Bible - a quote from 1 Corinthians 10:31. In English: "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." The quote is roughly but not quite exactly Luther's 1534 German translation of the Greek original.

Each letter is framed by 12 cut pieces of inlay; each letter is hand cut. There is also a Star of David and initials N.P.

I've made inquiries to museums, academics, people who know about Pennsylvania German culture, and a well-known furniture restorer and pretty much everyone says: wow, that is remarkable; but I don't know anything about it. At first I assumed it was Penn. German, but now I am thinking it is German/continental. I do know that the date of the table may not be 1747, but on the other hand it "feels" later than 19th century. Certainly it commemorates something significant from 1747 in Germanic culture - but what??

Can anyone tell me more about this table? (The lyre back chairs came with the table. They seem roughly contemporary).

Thank you.



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Hi!
You may want to post more photos here, especially construction details. Many members won't click on outside links to photos.

 

What an real interesting and remarkable piece (and that inlay Wow) Like you I really hope to learn more.

 

Wow! Have you tried museums in Germany? The inlay is very special.

 

r u sure the table top , goes with the base......
looks like different woods used here..

 

I was told by an “expert” once that many times you will find proper antique furniture would be made up of different types of wood. Because the craftsman used what wood he had available at the time?

 

It looks like it had a 'dip & strip' awhile ago. The top really looks like it originally had a finish on it. The knobs don't match, either. As much as you hear that different woods were used sometimes, this piece has a lot of mix & match going on. I vote that the base & top weren't originally together