Table

How do curators know who made an object? In many instances, unfortunately, the maker is unknown. However, curators have ways to establish the maker of an object. For example, they can look to a period catalogue or advertisement a description or illustration, or there may be an affinity with a documented piece that permits a reasonable attribution. Rarely, a piece, is marked or signed by the artist or manufacturer. In the case of this table, a printed paper label has survived on the underside of the tabletop. It identifies the manufacturer, the Charles Parker Company, a little-known firm that produced art brass, focusing on lighting fixtures and small occasional furniture.