DINING TABLE IN THE STYLE OF SOLID OAK IRISH ‘WAKE’ OR ‘HUNT’ TABLE TABLE
SOLD
Versatility is the name of the game with this vintage dining table. It will seat up to eight people comfortably but can also condense into a narrow form console table if space is an issue when not dining.
The swinging ‘double gate’ action that supports the solid oak leaves on each side of the table can be arranged at various angles to accommodate as many or as few chairs as are required.
Styled on the original Irish Wake or Hunt table, this solid oak table is certainly a show stopper and it’s oval form when both leaves are up and supported by sturdy oak pillars is conducive for great after-dinner conversation.
MEASUREMENTS:
LENGTH:
WIDTH WHEN LEAVES ARE UP:
WIDTH WHEN LEAVES ARE DOWN:
KNEE CLEARANCE:
EACH LEAF MEASURES:
Please call for a shipping quote prior to paying
904-636-8785
Description
SOLD
A LITTLE BACKGROUND HISTORY
Wake Tables were made and used by indigenous Irish people for 2 purposes: (1) As a fully functional dining table and (2) the central section had to be of sufficient width and length to support a coffin for the purpose of ‘waking’ the deceased in their home. Wake Tables were almost always made of oak, as this was the most common wood found in Ireland and therefore available to the ordinary (and poor) Irish Folk. Sometimes they might also be made of elm or sycamore.
Hunt Tables. however, were not made for the purposes of holding a coffin or ‘waking’ the dead. They were made for the ruling classes, nobility, or gentry for the sole purpose of use on the day of the ‘hunt’. This would be the fox hunting season of Fall and Winter, where the participants in the ‘hunt’ would gather at the local manor house early in the morning and the snacks and refreshments would be displayed for eating and drinking on the ‘hunt’ table. Hunt Tables are almost always made of mahogany which was an expensive and exotic hardwood imported from Cuba and the West Indies. When not in use they would be put up against a wall with the leaves down and items would be displayed on top. [1ST DIBS]
