This table is included in the items of the set, which entered the museum in 1918 from the estate of Counts Uvarov “Red Mountain” in Karacharovo. It was made in the first half of the XIX century from Karelian birch, when such furniture began to come into fashion. Karelian birch — expressive and unusual in texture material, has become a distinctive feature of Russian furniture items. The place of growth of this species of birch is the Russian North and the north of Europe. The use of Karelian birch in the manufacture of furniture was served by political and economic circumstances: at the end of the XVIII century, there was a ban on the importation into Russia from abroad of some goods, including exotic wood: mahogany, rosewood. Russian Russian craftsmen find Karelian birch among the new materials, which has become a real “beauty of Russian carpentry art”. “Karelian birch wood is very diverse. Polishing reveals the beauty of the texture, including moire, the use of varnishes (transparent, yellow, pinkish) allows you to see products from Karelian birch in all its splendor …” — noted one of the researchers. Karelian birch was used for the manufacture of furniture for noble estates for two centuries: from the XVIII to the beginning of the XX century. Carpenters of manor and capital workshops worked on the creation of “sunny” pieces of furniture.
Karelian birch is a very expensive tree, and a set of it could cost a fortune. However, ladies adored this furniture for its soft, sunny color, and therefore often things made of this tree often decorated ladies' offices and small living rooms. Praskovya Sergeevna Uvarova also had such furniture in her rooms. The whole set consisted of two tables, a dressing table, several low armchairs, and a sofa covered with silk fabric.
This table was suspected to be an album table, that is, the album of the hostess of the house should have been on it. The tradition of keeping albums with memorable recordings from friends and fans appeared in the era of Catherine the Second. When guests gathered together in the house for danses, it was their honorable duty to leave an entry in the album. A book with sayings entertained the guests in the living room. The albums were originally small and could fit in a handbag. Later, the record books became larger, more elegant and more refined. They were shown on a special table. However, it is unlikely that such an album could be the hobby of the learned countess-archaeologist Praskovya Sergeevna Uvarova. In the second half of the XIX century, the tradition was fading, and the tables were used for their intended purpose. Sometimes such tables are called pridivannye. The presence of a drawer in the basement allowed you to store a book or necessary items for needlework and drawing.