Fifteenth Century Italian Table
This table is approximately four feet long, two feet wide, and 36 inches tall - the height of the average kitchen counter. This height makes it an ideal work surface, sideboard or dressing table. The compact size allows it to fit comfortably in a tent. The design can be readily modified from the original to lower it to a convenient eating height. Longer, wider extrapolations of the basic design are also possible.



The original table is 15th century Italian, and is featured in the book Schöttmuller's Wohnungskultur und Möbel der Italienischen Renaissance (1921). The mortise and tenon cross rail style is common in Western Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Scan reposted from Medieval and Renaissance Woodworking



In the original, the vertical parts of the legs are narrow almost all the way to the attachment point. In this reproduction, the legs were widened towards the top. This will allow the table height to be cut down to a height for dining use. When left tall, this area can also be used to add decorative elements. Future iterations may be made with either a narrow or wide leg. The legs slide out of the tabletop support, for break-down.

In second (and subsequent) generations of the pattern, the cross rail and feet have been reshaped to more closely match the original.



The leg and cross rail are held together with a wooden peg. When this is removed, and the legs detached from the top, the table breaks down flat for travel.



Detail of dovetailing



Shown for scale



Unfinished Table. Finishes can include period linseed, or more modern, such as stains and weather-resistant varnishes (as shown above).  



Copyright ©2006 Charlotte Johnson.