circa 1740-1760, overhanging figured top with molded front and sides, retaining original brasses, turned legs on pad feet, bald cypress secondary, 28 x 34 x 19-1-2 in.

Provenance: This table has a history of ownership in the Simons, Vanderhorst, and Waring families;

Sotheby's, New York, NY, "Important Americana," May 23, 2002, lot 317;

Levison & Cullen Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia, May 2002 (accompanied by copy of receipt for $166,000);

Estate of Richard and Shirley Roberts, Virginia Beach, Virginia

Literature: Bradford L. Rauschenberg and John Bivins, Jr., Furniture of Charleston, 1680-1820, Vol I: Colonial Furniture (2003), p. 243, fig. CT-13.

Note: The use of bald cypress as a secondary wood, the top molded on three sides, arched apron, and straight, rounded legs with wide flat disc pad feet are consistent with related Charleston case furniture. The same rare, early brasses appear on other high style Charleston pieces. The early use of mahogany, the open-work brasses, the lobed central apron (likely a vestigial William and Mary element), lappet-carved knees, and the overall quality of execution point to a London-trained cabinetmaker working in Charleston at this early period.

Closely related tables are in the collections of Colonial Williamsburg as well as several documented in the MESDA furniture files.