Charles Rohlfs

Acquired at an on-site auction held at the Roycroft campus, East Aurora, NY, ca. 1930s
Thence by descent

Joseph Cunningham, The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs, New Haven, CT, 2008, pp. 94-97 (for a tall back chair in the collection of Princeton University Art Museum with related carved and fretted decoration), pp. 116 and 130 (for a library table with related carved decoration), p. 125 (for a cube chair with similarly sectioned design motifs) and p. 146 (for a cube chair with similar naïve whimsical fretting)

Overall in very good condition. The wood surfaces appear to be refinished throughout, with some occasional old surface scratches and edge abrasions consistent with age and use. The feet show more prominent abrasions and edge losses consistent with general wear and use. The top with an old linear gauge mark approximately 2 ¼ inches long. There is a small C-shaped carved volute terminal (approximately 1 ¾ x ½ inches) which is missing within the carved composition of one of the carved table ends. This small missing element is hard to detect and does not detract from the overall design. If desired, it could be easily replicated from the other identical elements on the carved supports. As seen in the catalogue illustrations, there are some irregularities and streaks to the finish on the framing components and feet of the carved support ends. A wonderful utilitarian table form, displaying superb sinuous carving synonymous with Rohlf's most accomplished work.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This Charles Rohlfs Trestle Table is directly related to Gustav Stickley's models, especially the Bungalow Library Table Number 401, introduced in Stickley's New Furniture catalogue of 1900.  Rather than tracing Rohlfs's recently discovered influences on Stickley, here it is considerably more exciting to explore Rohlfs's combining of rustic elements from the British Arts & Crafts Movement and Roycroft Shops furniture with his more complex and virtuosic design and craft.

The influence of Cotswolds furniture is apparent in the Trestle Table's bold silhouette, confident structure and dramatic cross stretchers and braces.  Especially close connections can be drawn between Rohlfs's Trestle Table and the dining room table by Sidney Barnsley for the Interior of Stoneywell Cottage, Leicestershire, other notable table forms by A.W.N. Pugin, Sidney and Ernest Barnsley, and Ernest Gimson, as well as tables marketed by Ambrose Heal.  Still, the proximate source for the rectilinearity and daring design of Rohlfs's Trestle Table was the Roycrofters in East Aurora, New York.  It was purchased by ancestors of the present owner at an auction on the Roycroft campus.  Tradition has it that the Trestle Table was created for the Roycrofters by Rohlfs, likely around 1898-1899, when the furniture operation in East Aurora was likely not adequate for creating such a complex piece.  We can independently confirm that the table was very likely a custom order.  To my knowledge, this Rohlfs table is the unique example of its form.  It was neither featured in design magazines during the period nor offered in Rohlfs's portfolio of illustrations, published in November 1907.

The style of the Trestle Table might be called Roycroft-plain meets Rohlfs-inventive.  Its overall shape, size and structure are highly distinctive among Rohlfs's early designs and likely reflect specifications from the Roycrofters.  Still, Rohlfs's highly individualistic, expressive style is apparent throughout the design.  The distinctive horizontally-set through-tenon joints at each end harken back to British precedents, which were important to Rohlfs in this period, and a variety of similar tenon-and-key designs with which Rohlfs was experimenting in 1898 and 1899, most notably on a closely-related library table.

The dramatic diagonal cross-braces at each end of the Trestle Table are highly unusual on Rohlfs's work and may have been inspired by Joseph McHugh's designs.  These diagonal braces terminate at the floor in exquisitely rendered and carved feet, which are beautifully integrated and notably more sophisticated than Rohlfs's typical foot designs, which tend to be quite blocky and uncomfortable during this period.

The Trestle Table features some of Rohlfs's most novel use of cross-stretchers and braces, especially in the elegant expanse below the tabletop.  This carefully integrated design element supports the crossbeam and enlivens the design with the whimsical and naïve rhythmic fretting for which Rohlfs would first receive attention in the American design press. 

Each end of the table features some of the most elaborate and exquisite combination of carving and piercing of Rohlfs's career.  Typical of the period, Rohlfs uses a partitioned approach to the decoration, slicing his motifs into four corners, which unite in a swirling plane of abstract imagery.  This decorative scheme evokes some of Rohlfs's most important designs, including a masterful library table and the famous tall back chair donated to the Princeton University Art Museum by Charles Rohlfs's son, Roland.

---Joseph Cunningham, Ph.D., author of The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs (New Haven: Yale University Press, October 2008) and curator of the exhibition of the same title, opening in June 2008, Milwaukee Art Museum.