A fine example of an American Federal mahogany inlaid sideboard from New York or New Jersey, circa 1790-1810. This regional interpretation of a new and specialized furniture form exhibits distinctive construction, inlay, and design characteristics, common to New York and New Jersey cabinetmakers of the Federal Era (1786-1820). It is interesting to note here that the sideboard was a new form of furniture in the late 18th century. In general, rooms of the 18th century were multi-functional; as activities changed throughout the day, so did much of the furniture designated in a room. Therefore, before the neoclassical era (1785-1820), households did not have a room reserved exclusively for dining. It may have been George Washington's construction of a formal dining room at Mount Vernon that helped promote this trend (MESDA, "The Neoclassical Dining Room", November 1988, p.1). Sideboards, then, began replacing the ubiquitous marble-topped pier table as a place from which to serve hot and cold foods, as well as a space to display valuable silver and porcelains. It also afforded one the utility of storage space in the drawers it provided. The design was first illustrated in The Cabinet-Maker and Upholster’s Guide (London 1788), by George Hepplewhite who described the form and purpose as follows:

The great utility of this piece of furniture has procured it a very general reception; and the conveniences it affords renders a dining-room incomplete without a sideboard. Of those with drawers, we have given two designs; the first’s hews {sic} the internal construction and conveniences of the drawers; the right hand drawer has partitions for nine bottles. Behind this is a place for cloths or napkins the whole depth of the drawer. The drawer on the left has two divisions, the hinder one lined with green cloth to hold plate. The front one is lined with lead for the convenience of holding water to wash glasses. The long drawer in the middle is adapted for table linen? The general custom is to make the form 5 and half to 7 feet long, 3 feet high, from 28 to 32 inches wide. The ornaments to the fronts of which may be carved, painted, or inlaid with various colored wood.

Condition: Outstanding, no patches or repairs of merit. Brass are of the period but replaced.

Provenance: A Charleston, South Carolina Estate.

Dimensions: Height 41”, Width 73”, Depth 27”.

Materials: White pine, poplar, cherry, mahogany, mahogany veneers, various light colored inlays, and brass.

CA.CC.100.1