Studio: international art (35.1905)

Ancient Tables

fig. XI.—Florentine table (Figdor Collection) END OF 15TH CENTURY

century made of soft pine-wood. The supports are
in an excellent condition, but the upper part is
somewhat worn away, while the top being more
easily destructible has vanished. What is left
shows the beauty of age, a soft patina and a lovely
tone, the traces of a youthful loveliness grown grey.

Fig. VII. shows a unique table, dating from the
fifteenth century, which must have done duty as a
paying counter. It came from the Rathhaus in
Amberg, in the Upper Palatinate. The supports are
shaped like trestles, and
connected by transverse
bars. The rosettes which
ornament the point of junc-
tion and the upper part of
the trestles have an intarsia
of multi-coloured woods,
the design being geometri-
cal. The plate is of Kehl-
heim stone—a rare thing
of itself, as also its length,
which is nearly s'x feet.

The oak framework in
which this slab is fixed has
a like intarsia round its
edges to that ornamenting
the lower part of the table
It must have served not
only as a counter but also
as an account-book; for
here the items were scored
to be washed away by a
sponge when the customer
3i4

had paid his bill. This
table is a masterpiece in
construction and wonder-
fully firm even now ; it is
singularly elegant in appear-
ance, and shows how beauty
of form was thought of,
even though the article was
only made for the purpose
of keeping the accounts
of the old Rathhaus, and
for the citizens to count
their money when paying
them. Fig. VIII. is late
Gothic; it has a leaf but this
is not to be seen in the illus-
tration. It is very graceful
in form, and has crossbars
on either side, though too
high up for use. The carv-
ing is firm and sure, the
lines broad and powerful, the workmanship true.
Fig. IX. shows a table of walnut-wood of the
same form as that in Albrecht Diirer’s picture
of St. Hieronymus. Its construction is very fine,
its colouring a harmony in gold ; for time has lent
it a wonderful blond patina resembling threads
of gold on a maiden’s hair in the sunlight. In
Fig. X. we have a table very similar to the last
mentioned, but the iron clamps made it much
stronger. Both these tables were probably used

FLORENTINE TABLE EARLY l6TH CENTURY

f Collection of Herr Etigen Aliller zu Aichholz)