Cliveden, the historic Germantown estate known for its role in the Revolutionary War and generations of Chew family history, celebrates two major events this month: the return of an 18th-century tea table to its original home and the relaunch of its popular “Second Saturdays” tours.
On Tuesday, June 17, Cliveden will host a party to welcome home a carved Chippendale mahogany tea table, a piece that was in the home for over 200 years before it was sold at auction. The celebration begins at 5 p.m. in the estate’s parlor, where the table is on view.
“It’s invaluable to us. It’s beautiful,” said Carolyn Wallace, education director at Cliveden. “We’re very happy to have it back here at Cliveden. The craftsmanship is incredible.”
The table was created in Philadelphia around 1770, according to Christie’s auction house. Its carving is attributed to London-trained artisan John Pollard and is considered an outstanding example of Early American furniture. It features a “flame mahogany” top, carved from a single massive piece of wood, prompting Wallace to reflect, “how big was this tree?”
The table was passed down to generations of the Chew family before it was sold in 2012. It reappeared at Christie’s Important Americana sale in January 2025, where it was purchased by Cliveden for $81,900 with the support of generous donations. “Our CEO, Nancy VanDolsen, found it,” Wallace said. “We have alerts and we keep an eye out for things going to auction.”
Cliveden is operated by a local nonprofit, Cliveden of the National Trust, which manages the site on behalf of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a national nonprofit that owns the buildings, property, and their contents.
The museum’s effort to reconnect with its past goes beyond artifacts. Its “Second Saturdays” program — which resumed in May and runs monthly through October — features themed tours that dive into hidden chapters of Cliveden’s history.
The next event, on Saturday, June 14, will highlight stories from “Illuminating Hidden Lives,” a project that dramatizes the lives of free and enslaved African Americans connected to Cliveden and the Chew family.
“We worked with the folks at PWPvideo and the African American Genealogy Group, and we wove together a script that was as if you’re watching these actions happen,” Wallace said.
Among the recreated narratives based on historic documents is the story of Jacob, “an enslaved man who is in Philadelphia, and there’s a slave catcher named Etherington who’s coming to take him back to Maryland and Jacob is before the mayor to try to plead his case,” Wallace said. The program is part of the broader Juneteenth celebration in Germantown.
“It’s interesting to see how we can take these little threads of things to illuminate these full three-dimensional lives,” she added.
“Second Saturdays” continues on Aug. 9 with "Transcending Thresholds: Archaeology of Service Spaces." The tour will explore recent digs at Cliveden, which uncovered artifacts from the kitchen and pantry, and even from the bottom of a historic well.
“We've been doing underground archaeology in the kitchen and underneath the pantry, and from the sediment in the bottom of the well,” Wallace said. Recovered items include medicine bottles, children’s toys, shoes, and household objects, many of which are still being cataloged.
As Cliveden works to preserve high-style furnishings, Wallace noted the importance of including simpler items to better reflect the lives of all who lived and worked on the property. “We don’t have a lot of everyday stuff, and some of that doesn’t survive,” she said.
Still, Cliveden’s existing collection offers a deep link to the past. “We’re lucky that we have a lot of objects that are family pieces that we can interpret this space with things that were sat on and used and moved by people that were here over 200 years,” Wallace said.
Tickets for the June 17 tea table party are $25 and can be purchased on Cliveden’s website. Second Saturdays Spotlight Tours begin at 10:30 a.m. and cost $20 general admission, or $10 for residents of the 19119 and 19144 zip codes, and members of Cliveden and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Afternoon tours from 12-4 p.m. are free and begin hourly. For more information, visit cliveden.org.
