een handgeschilderd, traditioneel houten klaptafel met bloemmotieven en een centraal schilderijtje

Flap-against-the-wall or folding table

Tables are useful utensils. But in the generally small houses around the former Zuiderzee, they sometimes got in the way. It was therefore convenient if the table could be folded up against the wall, like this eighteenth-century “wall-mounted flap table”. The table was out of the way against the wall, but it was still visible, of course. This table is therefore artfully painted on both the top and bottom of the tabletop.

arrow_circle_down

“A biblical story was often depicted on the underside of the folding table. On this table, it is the story of Rebecca at the well, a reference to hospitality.”
André Groeneveld
Conservator Zuiderzeemuseum

The legs, which are clearly visible when the table is folded up, are also extensively decorated. Because the painting on the underside of the tabletop hardly wears away, it is often richer than that on the top of flap-to-wall tables. The exuberant paintings on both sides of the tabletop show that the owner must have been wealthy. The top is painted with a bird and flowers on a white background. On the underside of the tabletop, there is a medallion with a biblical scene on a red background. Because both sides of the tabletop are so decorative, the owner could choose how he wanted his table to look: would it be the light, white painting or the serious, red scene?

From de Rudder decoration in the shape of a mermaid to de Pleated cap. Discover the online collection of the Zuiderzeemuseum.