Card Table c. 1790

Editor: Here we have a card table from around 1790, made out of wood, currently held at the Art Institute of Chicago. The craftsmanship is quite fine. What strikes me is the intimacy it suggests, games being played in parlors... what do you make of it? Curator: That's a great starting point. Think about what that parlor represented: for whom was that space available? Consider that this seemingly simple card table is emblematic of 18th-century social dynamics – a period deeply entwined with colonialism and inequality. The wood itself might be imported, the wealth to afford it derived from exploitative systems. Editor: So the beauty and elegance is intertwined with…something darker? Curator: Precisely. The leisure represented by the “card table” wasn't universally accessible. While some enjoyed games of chance, others were actively being denied their own chances at a dignified life. Consider who is absent from this image. Editor: It makes you wonder about the hands that touched this table, and under what circumstances. Were women included in these games? What about enslaved people maintaining the home? Curator: Exactly! And those seemingly innocuous decorative details? They could allude to power structures, social codes, and economic disparities. How might we reinterpret those design choices with that understanding? Editor: It challenges us to look beyond face value and understand that even everyday objects carry the weight of history and inequality. It’s definitely something I’ll keep in mind from now on. Curator: Indeed. Recognizing that complexity allows us to engage with the object more critically and responsibly. It transforms the object from something pretty into something profound.