Images(2)

Sideboard

DateCa. 1800

OriginAmerica, New Hampshire, Portsmouth

MediumMahogany, white pine, maple, light and dark wood inlay.

DimensionsOH: 39 5/8"; OW: 53 1/2"

Credit LineBequest of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Hennage

Object number1991-86

DescriptionAppearance: SIdeboard with rectangular top with bowed front and inlaid banding on edge above a case with the arrangement of three frieze drawers with cross banded borders, inset brass escutcheon and two round brass knobs each; four cupboard doors below with banded borders, fan spandrels, and inset brass escutcheons; the whole on tapered legs inlaid with stylized stars/flowers over bellflowers and dots flanking case and stylized flowers and straight vine with leaves on lower portion of legs ending in cross banded cuffs with tapered feet below.

Construction
The top consists of a single thin mahogany board laminated with mahogany lath under the front and side edges and with stained white pine lath under the back edge. The resultant front and side edges are veneered with cross banded mahogany and string inlay. Two white pine front-to-back medial laths are glued to the underside of the top. The upper front rail is probably dove-tailed to the tops of the front legs. The top assembly rests on the tops of the mahogany legs, and the upper edges of the front rail, sides and back. It is secured with pocket screws from the back and screws from the underside of the top rail.

The two-board sides and backboard are tenoned into the legs. The interior of the backboard is stained red in the lower, compartment section. The drawer blade and bottom rail are double-tenoned into the legs. The bottom rail is butt joined to the bottom. (A modern filler strip closes the shrinkage gap.) The one board white pine bottom is nailed from the underside to the bottom edge of the back, into rabbets on the underside of the sides and from underneath to the interior case dividers.

The upper drawer dividers are double-tenoned into the upper rail and drawer blade; the lower compartment dividers are double-tenoned into the drawer blade and through double-tenoned into the bottom rail. The drawer guides/compartment dividers are one piece from the top to the bottom board. They are tongue and groove joined to the back edge of the drawer dividers and rest in a dado in the case back. Drawer supports are nailed to the compartment dividers. Drawer guides for the outside edge of the two side drawers are glued to the sides. The outer drawer supports are nailed to them.

Drawer blade, rails, drawer dividers and compartment dividers are of white pine faced on exposed surfaces with cross grained mahogany veneer. Secondary woods are white pine.

Cabinet doors are hung with inset brass butt hinges. Brass knobs are likely original.
The doors of the side compartments are stained white pine with mahogany end battens and mahogany veneer on the door top and side edges, while the center compartment doors are mahogany of the same construction. All of the doors are faced with figured mahogany that is bordered with curly maple crossbanding and fan inlaid quadrants. The legs are inlaid with maple bellflowers and flowers.

The drawers are of standard dovetail construction with the bottoms nailed from the underside to the edge of the back and chamfered on the underside edges to fit in dados in the front and sides. Shaped runners are cut into separated glue blocks and glued into the void created by the chamfered edges. The drawer fronts and edges are mahogany veneered with curly maple crossbanding to match the door fronts below them but without the fan quadrants.
ProvenanceDonor purchased from Israel Sack, Inc. in 1989