Antique Chinese Rustic Elm Wood Altar Table or Work Table, c. 1875

A one-of-a-kind rustic antique American country work table in original plum - wine paint finish with heavily worn distressed patina! Full of antique character and unique folky charm, featuring primitve hand-crafted farmhouse craftsmanship and solid wooden construction, having a plank boarded top, simple wide apron with pegged detail, rising on distinctive spool-turned Jenny Lind legs terminating in tapering ring-turned feet. This rustic folk art table most likely originating in the Southern United States, handmade during the early/mid-19th century by a farmer, not a formally trained carpenter or furniture maker, adding to the overall antique character, elegant warmth, and rich historical depth. Dimensions: (approx) 33" High, 64" Wide, 31" Deep Provenance / Acquisition: Acquired from reputable auction house Bright Star Antiques Co., Sulfur Springs, Texas. May 2022 Session 1.5 catalog. Founded on generations of experience in rare antiques and furnishings, Bright Star has been specializing in rare American country antiques and architectural elements for over 25 years. Condition: Beautiful age, weathered patina and attractive faded mellow coloring. Heavily worn, naturally distressed, chippy paint, losses, warping, slight wobble, substantial wear and tear consistent with age and use. Not overly strong or sturdy, but certainly functional and delivered ready for immediate use. Jenny Lind’s Legs? Johanna Maria Lind (Sweden; 1820–1887) spent many nights in the U.S. during her wildly popular concert tour, presenting an opportunity for furniture makers to claim that P.T. Barnum’s Swedish Nightingale rested in one of their beds. Celebrity endorsements—sanctioned or not—had been found to boost sales, and 19th-century entrepreneurs had little aversion to stretching the truth. By the time she returned to Europe, Jenny Lind’s name or likeness had been affixed to riding hats, cigars, dolls, perfume, and more. Still, the association between spool-turned beds and the name “Jenny Lind” appears to be a 20th-century phenomenon, likely an attempt to conjure a connection to simpler times after the fact. Several bits of folklore connect the opera star with specific beds. The most widespread asserts that Philadelphia furniture manufacturer George J. Henkels placed a special bed—actually, a carved Rococo piece with a side canopy—in Lind’s hotel, and later gave it to her as a gift or, in a divergent ending, vowed to name it after her. A second story centers on a common, early 19th-century mahogany spool bed...

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