Dining table - Walnut - Round turn with a clove hitch

Round table with a 'sail' position, Walnut – original England, late 19th century – with a pin-and-wedge mechanism to set it in the 'sail' position and casters under the base, allowing easy storage.
Top veneered in walnut burl to match the under-top border.
Central turned leg resting on three swept feet carved with volutes and scrolls culminating in a shell motif.

Condition: excellent thanks to the meticulous care of the owner, periodically finished with shellac and alcohol.
NO damage, NO restoration, NO alterations.
Dimensions (cm):
Height: 77
Diameter: 135
Pickup in northern Rome, ground floor, vehicle access possible.

The discreet – and unsustainable – charm of the 'sail' table. From the late 18th century the first models of this type of dining table appeared, with the top able to tilt vertically, hence the term 'sail'. The purpose was to take up less space and to store it in a corner when not in use. The need arose in bourgeois city homes, which, although well-off, did not enjoy the unlimited spaces of aristocratic country residences. The new luxury of this social class had to reckon with space in Dickens’s crowded London. The sail table thus became a fashion, even in homes that did not suffer from space shortages, and it spread to the rest of Europe. The grain of antique woods, in this case walnut, continues to enchant, enhanced by the vertical position.
The need harmonizes with today’s living and balances practicality with a touch of class, then as now.