Table
A table is a common item of furniture with a raised flat top that is supported, most commonly, by one or four legs (although not exclusively). The table is typically used as a surface for working at, eating from or on which to place things. The word table is derived from Old English “tabele”, derived from the Latin word tabula (‘a board, plank, flat top piece’), which replaced the Old English ‘bord’ – its current spelling reflecting the French influence on the table.
Some common types of table are the dining room table, which is used for seated persons to eat meals, the coffee table, which is a low table used in living rooms to display items or serve refreshments, and the bedside table, which is commonly used to place an alarm clock and/or a lamp. There are also a range of specialised tables, such as drafting tables, used for doing architectural drawings, and sewing tables for the creation of garments and such the like.
Some very early tables were made and used by the Ancient Egyptians around 2500 BC, using wood and alabaster. They were often little more than crude stone platforms used to keep objects off the floor, though a few examples of wooden tables have been found in tombs. Food and drinks were usually put on large plates deposed on a pedestal for eating or held by slaves. It could be argued, controversially, that the Egyptian slave was a type of multi-purpose table. The Egyptians made use of various small tables and elevated playing boards. The Chinese also created very early tables in order to pursue the arts of writing and painting, as did people in Mesopotamia, where various metals were used in their fabrication.
The Greeks and Romans made more frequent use of tables, notably for eating, although Greek tables were hidden from sight under a bed after use, the reason for which is largely unknown. The Greeks invented a piece of furniture very similar to the guéridon. These tables were made of marble or wood and metal (typically bronze or silver alloys), sometimes with richly ornate legs denoting sculptural human or mythological figures.
Furniture during the Middle Ages is not as well known as that of earlier or later periods, and most sources show only types used by the nobility of the period. In the Eastern Roman Empire, tables were made of metal or wood, usually with four feet and frequently linked by x-shaped stretchers. Tables for eating were large and often round or semicircular. A combination of a small round table and a lectern made popular choices as writing tables. In Western Europe, the frequent invasions and wars caused most of the knowledge inherited from the classical era to be lost. As a result of the necessary movability, most tables were simple trestle tables during this period, although small round tables made from joinery reappeared during the 15th century and have been a staple ever since. In the Gothic era, the chest became widespread and was often gerrymandered as a table. Refectory tables, a highly elongated table, was used originally for dining in monasteries during Medieval times. In the Late Middle Ages, the table gradually became a banqueting or feasting table in castles and other noble residences. The original table manufacture was by hand and created of oak or walnut; the design is based on a trestle style. Typically, the table legs are supported by circumferential stretchers positioned very low to the floor.
Many modern tables have tops that can be adjusted to change their height, position, shape, or size, either with foldable, sliding or extendable parts that can alter the surface shape. Some tables are entirely foldable for easy transportation, e.g. camping , storage and TV trays. Small tables in trains and aircraft may be fixed or foldable, although they are sometimes considered, to the despair of table historians, as simply convenient shelves rather than true tables.
Tables can be freestanding or designed for placement against a wall. Tables designed to be placed against a wall are known as Pier tables or console tables and may be bracket-mounted (traditionally), like a shelf, or have legs, which sometimes absurdly imitate the look of a bracket-mounted table.
Tables of various shapes, heights, and sizes are designed for the following specific uses:
Dining room tables are designed to be used for formal dining.
A nightstand, alternatively night table, bedside table, daystand or bedside cabinet, is a small table or cabinet designed to stand beside a bed or elsewhere in a bedroom. Modern nightstands are usually small bedside tables, often with one or sometimes more drawers and/or shelves and less commonly with a small door. They are often used to support items that might be useful during the night, such as a table lamp, reading matter, cell phone, eyeglasses, tissues, a drink, or medication. Before indoor flush toilets became commonplace, the main function of a nightstand was to contain a chamber pot.[citation needed] As a result, early nightstands were often small cabinets, sometimes fitted with a drawer, and usually containing an enclosed storage space below covered by one or more doors. Another term sometimes given to such cabinets was commode.
A drop-leaf table is a table that has a fixed section in the center and a hinged section (leaf) on either side that can be folded down (dropped). If the leaf is supported by a bracket when folded up, the table is simply a drop-leaf table; if the leaf is supported by legs that swing out from the center, it is known as a gateleg table. Depending on the style of drop-leaf or gateleg tables, the leaves vary from coming almost down to the floor to only coming down slightly.
The usual purpose of a drop-leaf table is to save space when the table is not in use. Typical examples of drop-leaf tables are: dining tables, night stands, side tables, coffee tables, and desks. Drop-leaf tables were found mostly in England where they date back to the late sixteenth century; Elizabethan era and Jacobean era examples are still extant.
A coffee table is a low table designed to be placed in a sitting area for convenient support of beverages, remote controls, magazines, books (especially large, illustrated coffee table books), decorative objects, and other small items. Most coffee tables are made of wood (though faux wood tables are increasingly common) or glass and metal, typically stainless steel or aluminum, and may incorporate cabinets or drawers. According to the listing in Victorian Furniture by R. W. Symonds & B. B. Whineray and also in The Country Life Book of English Furniture by Edward T. Joy, a table designed by E. W. Godwin in 1868 and made in large numbers by William Watt, and Collinson and Lock, is a coffee table. If this is correct, it may be one of the earliest made in Europe. Other sources, however, list it only as “table”, so this can not be stated categorically. From the late 19th century onwards, many coffee tables were subsequently made in earlier styles due to the popularity of revivalism, so it is quite possible to find Louis XVI style coffee tables or Georgian style coffee tables, but there seems to be no evidence of a table actually made as a coffee table before this time. Joseph Aronson writing in 1938 defines a coffee table as a “Low wide table now used before a sofa or couch. There is no historical precedent...”, suggesting that coffee tables were a late development in the history of furniture. With the increasing availability of television sets from the 1950s onwards coffee tables really came into their own, since they are low enough, even with cups and glasses on them, not to obstruct the view of the TV.
A refectory table is a highly elongated table used originally for dining in monasteries during Medieval times. In the Late Middle Ages, the table gradually became a banqueting or feasting table in castles and other noble residences. The original table manufacture was by hand and created of oak or walnut; the design is based on a trestle style. Typically, the table legs are supported by circumferential stretchers positioned very low to the floor. In its original use, one or more refectory tables were placed within the monks’ dining hall or refectory. The larger refectories would have a number of refectory tables where monks would take their meals, often while one of the monks read sacred texts from an elevated pulpit, frequently reached from a stone staircase to one side of the refectory. Secular use of the refectory table is thought to have originated in the Mediterranean regions of Europe, where increasingly ornate designs were adopted by Italian and other craftsmen. Adaptation of the refectory table outside the monasteries traveled to central and northern parts of Europe in the late 16th century. For example the Italian artist Giulio Romano traveled to France in the first half of the 16th century and brought concepts of the Italian style to the French court of Francis I. Later in the 16th century the secular refectory table spread to Flemish and German locales. While the Mediterranean refectory tables emphasized the use of walnut, oak wood became equally common in these more northern parts of Europe.
Drafting tables usually have a top that can be tilted for making a large or technical drawing. They may also have a ruler or similar element integrated. Workbenches are sturdy tables, often elevated for use with a high stool or while standing, which are used for assembly, repairs, or other precision handwork. Nested tables are a set of small tables of graduated size that can be stacked together,[9] each fitting within the one immediately larger. They are for occasional use (such as a tea party), hence the stackable design. Loo tables were very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries as candlestands, tea tables, or small dining tables, although they were originally made for the popular card game called loo or lanterloo. Their typically round or oval tops have a tilting mechanism, which enables them to be stored out of the way (e.g. in room corners) when not in use. A further development in this direction was the “birdcage” table, the top of which could both revolve and tilt. Pembroke tables were first introduced during the 18th century and were popular throughout the 19th century. Their main characteristic was a rectangular or oval top with folding or drop leaves on each side. Most examples have one or more drawers and four legs sometimes connected by stretchers. Their design meant they could easily be stored or moved about and conveniently opened for serving tea, dining, writing, or other occasional uses. Sofa tables are similar to Pembroke tables and usually have longer and narrower tops. They were specifically designed for placement directly in front of sofas for serving tea, writing, dining, or other convenient uses. Generally speaking, a sofa table is a tall, narrow table used behind a sofa to hold lamps or decorative objects. Work tables were small tables designed to hold sewing materials and implements, providing a convenient work place for women who sewed. They appeared during the 18th century and were popular throughout the 19th century. Most examples have rectangular tops, sometimes with folding leaves, and usually one or more drawers fitted with partitions. Early examples typically have four legs, often standing on casters, while later examples sometimes have turned columns or other forms of support. Drum tables are round tables introduced for writing, with drawers around the platform. End tables are small tables typically placed beside couches or armchairs. Often lamps will be placed on an end table. Overbed tables are narrow rectangular tables whose top is designed for use above the bed, especially for hospital patients. Billiards tables are bounded tables on which billiards-type games are played. All provide a flat surface, usually composed of slate and covered with cloth, elevated above the ground. Chess tables are a type of games table that integrates a chessboard. Table tennis tables are usually masonite or a similar wood, layered with a smooth low-friction coating. they are divided into two halves by a low net, which separates opposing players. Poker tables or card tables are used to play poker or other card games.