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Table

Decorative Arts and Design

How do curators know who made an object? In many instances, unfortunately, the maker is unknown. However, curators have ways to establish the maker of an object. For example, they can look to a period catalogue or advertisement a description or illustration, or there may be an affinity with a documented piece that permits a reasonable attribution. Rarely, a piece, is marked or signed by the artist or manufacturer. In the case of this table, a printed paper label has survived on the underside of the tabletop. It identifies the manufacturer, the Charles Parker Company, a little-known firm that produced art brass, focusing on lighting fixtures and small occasional furniture.

MEDIUM Brass, other metals, wood, fabric
DATES ca. 1880
DIMENSIONS 29 x 19 x 17 1/2 in. (73.7 x 48.3 x 44.5 cm)  (show scale)
MARKINGS on paper label glued to bottom of table: THE CHAS> PARKER CO./ (A) RTISTIC BRONZE GOODS(S)
SIGNATURE no signature
INSCRIPTIONS no inscriptions
ACCESSION NUMBER 85.12.1
CREDIT LINE H. Randolph Lever Fund
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION The Charles Parker Company (American, established 1832). Table, ca. 1880. Brass, other metals, wood, fabric, 29 x 19 x 17 1/2 in. (73.7 x 48.3 x 44.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, H. Randolph Lever Fund, 85.12.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 85.12.1_view2_bw.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 85.12.1_view2_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
The Charles Parker Company (American, established 1832). <em>Table</em>, ca. 1880. Brass, other metals, wood, fabric, 29 x 19 x 17 1/2 in. (73.7 x 48.3 x 44.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, H. Randolph Lever Fund, 85.12.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 85.12.1_view2_bw.jpg)