Exhibition Guide

Painted to suggest the dramatic grain of rosewood, this center table—a newly fashionable form at the turn of the 19th century—is all about imitation. Perched on saber-shaped legs, it features hard-edged stencils imitating gilt brass. Fierce winged thunderbolts and stylized palmettes give way to softer stenciled fruit and foliage, rendered in muted colors on the deep table skirt. A vivid oak and acorn pattern wreathes the top edge. This decoration “frames” the main event—a plaster top depicting the temples of Vespasian and Saturn in the Roman Forum. Poetic images of this ancient site had been in print since the mid-1700s. While the pedestal base was made in Baltimore, the plaster top was imported, evidence that American decorative arts were international in scope.

The image of romanticized ruins in a Baltimore parlor signaled America’s abiding interest in antiquity. Originally part of an elaborate suite belonging to James Wilson (1775–1851), a wealthy Baltimore merchant, the aggressively ornamented table restates the social and economic confidence of Baltimore’s rising mercantile class as the nation grew toward international power. A documented example of a similar table (Brooklyn Museum of Art) allows us to attribute the BMA’s piece to Hugh Finlay, who was active in Baltimore from 1803 until 1830.