Late C18th Sycamore Cricket Table

An unusual late 18th Century Primitive Sycamore cricket table, with a roughly planked top with deep scars from years of use, over a tripod base with splayed tapering legs braced by a pegged t stretcher. In beautiful conserved condition, one of the most interesting examples we have seen. Welsh, circa 1790

The tabletop’s rough patina and deep scars is the result of continuous use over a period of two hundred years – drinks and food spilled and cleaned up, elbows and arms rubbing the edge, feet perched on the stretchers, as generations of people have gathered for simple meals or boisterous celebrations around fireplaces in country kitchens and in taverns.

The origin of the name ‘cricket’ for this type of table is uncertain – and an unlikely reference to the game. One possibility is that it derives from the name in Old Dutch for a low three-legged stool – ‘krukje’ (a small crutch), widely made and used throughout the European world since the Middle Ages. Few tools and little expertise were needed in the production of these simple, yet sturdy, forms – peg legs were fitted directly into a seat or top. The same basic construction was adapted for small tables and over time more sophisticated joinery was introduced, as seen in this example. A three-legged stool or table is also steadier on uneven ground or on uneven stone floors. From the eighteenth century on this was less of a problem paving the way for tables and chairs with fixed four legs.