Table

This table, carved by an unknown artist, may have been crafted in South America in the nineteenth century. Along the apron, the craftsman included two small drawers decorated with an intricate pattern that recalls seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European design. In addition to the four cabriole legs with their claw-and-ball feet, the table has two extra legs behind the apron. These are carved in an intertwining pattern that evokes tree branches, growing up out of the floor. In this way, the craftsman combined established European designs with patterns inspired by natural forms, perhaps to pay tribute to the indigenous traditions of South America.