The Cape teak peg top table

In the 18th-century Cape, small rectangular tables were a staple in households, gracing both the opulent townhouses of wealthy free-burghers as well as the modest homes of trekboers in remote regions. Known as tea-tables, these pieces appear in household inventories as early as the 1670s (Woodward, 1982: p133). They were typically placed in the voorkamer- the main parlour, where Cape families welcomed guests and hosted social gatherings.

The Cape teak peg top table with the top subsequently fixed to the base

In the simpler, often single-roomed homes of inland farmers, these tables were positioned under a window near the front door, with one short side against the wall.  In the inventories of two neighbouring farms of Aan de Breede Rivier, namely Sahras Rivier en Boesmans Rivier we also find tea-tables listed. MOOC8/7.63: Henderina Steevensz, 24 September 1753, the farm Saraasrivier, 1 thee tafel, and MOOC8/44.52 Gabruel Jakobus Leroe, Johanna Aletta Sanneberg, 2 Januarij 1828, the farm Bosjemans Rievier in the voorkamer 2 teetavels.

The Cape teak peg top table with the top secured to the base with four pegs

These tables, often called stretcher or peg-top tables, were crafted from materials like imported teak, local stinkwood, yellowwood, or cedarwood in the Sandveld region. Their design features baluster-turned legs, a simple stretcher, and peg-runners to secure the top and base.

Detail of the peg-runners securing the top to the base

While researching the old inventories of deceased estates at the Cape, 1692 to 1834, I learned a lot about the layout of the old Cape houses in the descriptions of the rooms and its contents. I discovered that there would almost always be a table or two with a konfoor in the voorhuis (reception room), for receiving guests.

The Boer's Voorhuis by Charles Bell, 1850

After restoring the original front of the Towerwater main house and reinstating the voorhuis, we decided to introduce furniture that most likely would have been found there originally. The table of choice was a Cape teak side table with a wavey stretcher. Stretcher tables, together with the gate-leg variety are the earliest of the Cape-made tables.

17th Century table, G. E. Pearce, Eighteenth Century Furniture in South Africa, 1960 

As Cape teak tables with wavey stretchers date from the 17^th and 18^th century, the decision to buy one was easier to make than to find one to buy. Our first Cape teak table we bought in Pretoria in 2014. The teak that was used for furniture making in the 17^th and 18^th century at the Cape came mostly from the East. The VOC (Dutch East India Company) used teak for the crates that they used to ship produce in, sometimes the teak from these crates was used to make fine furniture.

Peg, thumbnail edge and rounded corners, drawer pull and leg detail of the peg top table

Stretcher detail of the peg top table

According to Hans Fransen, these tables in the baroque style, usually have baluster or occasionally barley-sugar twisted legs, always with H- or X-shaped stretchers. The tops are rectangular and often have slightly set-back quadrant-shaped corners. This small 'occasional' table on four legs sometimes has a removable top attached by pegs to a batten on the side of the frame.

Leg, drawer pull, Thumbnail edge and rounded corners detail of the fixed top table

Stretcher detail of the fixed top table

In his book Cape Furniture, published in 1960, M.G. Atmore describes the tables as Peg Top Turned Leg Style. Atmore used the leg shape of the table as the chief characteristic feature for categorising tables into different styles.

Examples of table legs, M.G.Atmore, Cape Furniture, 1965

The tables had 3 types of stretchers, the box, H and X.   The box is known to feature from the 16th century, the H type and plain X from the first half of the 17th century, and the shaped X from the early 18th century.  

Examples of strechers, M.G.Atmore, Cape Furniture, 1965

In Cape Country Furniture, M Baraitser and A Obholzer, 1971, the tables are described as stretcher tables. They maintained that the term peg-top is a rather confusing one as it was formerly used to describe the shape of the leg.  In fact, most of these tables have tops that are pegged to the under-carriage, and the term peg-top came to denote the method of construction rather than a specific style of leg.

Our second Cape teak table was bought at a wine farm in Somerset West. This was a true peg top table with the top still being secured to the base with four pegs. The one table has a full width drawer, and the other has a central drawer. One table has a single plank teak top, and the other has a two-plank teak top, both with a thumbnail edge and rounded corners. Each table has turned baluster legs terminating in flattened bun feet with a wavey cross stretcher between the four legs. Both the brass lion head ring handle and the rosette plate ring handle date from the last quarter of the 18^th century. 

These tables add the correct historical detail to the voorkamer at Towerwater. Brassware from Robertson craftsmen and ceramics from Olifantsfontein complete the celebration of traditional South African craftsmanship.

Sources:

Cape Antique Furniture, Lennox van Onselen, 1959

Cape Furniture, M.G.Atmore, 1965

Eighteenth Century Furniture in South Africa, G. E. Pearce ,1960

Cape Country Furniture, M Baraitser and A Obholzer, 1971

The Interior of the Cape House 1670 – 1740, CS Woodward, 1982

Three Centuries of South African Art, Hans Fransen, 1982

Town Furniture of the Cape, M Baraitser and A Obholzer, 1987

Cape Furniture and Metalware, Deon Viljoen and Piér Rabe, 2001

Domestic Interiors at the Cape and in Batavia 1602-1795, Various Contributers, 2002

Furniture from European trading posts at the Cape of Good Hope and in South-East Asia 17^th – 19^th Centuries, Deon Viljoen, 2003

Cape Antique Furniture, Michael Baraitser and Anton Obholzer, 2004

Ou-Kaapse Meubels, Studies in Style, Matilda Burden, 2013