Images(3)

Sideboard

Date1795-1805

Possibly by James Lee Martin

OriginAmerica, Virginia, Frederick County, Winchester area

MediumMahogany, oak, yellow pine, tulip poplar, maple, bone

DimensionsOverall: 94.3 x 176.2 x 69.1cm (37 1/8 x 69 3/8 x 27 3/16in.)

Credit LineGift of Claude and Molly Turner

Object number2014-35

DescriptionSideboard with six legs; façade divided into three sections, outer sections have concave cupboard doors (proper left door was originally a drawer front) that are veneered to look like one shallow drawer with an ivory or bone teardrop inlaid escutcheon over a deeper drawer with an oval brass drawer pull with crossbanded mahogany on pseudo drawer blades and rails; center section of façade serpentine with one shallow drawer over a deeper drawer each with an ivory or bone inlaid escutcheon and two oval brass drawer pulls, drawer blades crossbanded with mahogany; overhanging top with crossbanded edge conforms to shape of façade; tops of each leg flanking cupboards and drawers inlaid on front with large oval outlined with maple string and filled with maple marquetry tulip on a serpentine stem with three leaves surrounded by mahogany; skirt inlaid on front and sides with three color banding: light (maple), dark (mahogany), and darker (stained mahogany) rectangular blocks; square tapered legs below skirt outlined with lightwood stringing, arched at top, that terminates in a maple cuff with dark stringing on top and bottom edges; interior of cupboards have a modern half depth shelf with serpentine front.
Label TextWinchester, founded in 1744, was a cosmopolitan regional center for the northern Valley of Virginia. The furniture produced there was very fashionable, following many of the styles and designs of urban centers like Baltimore and Philadelphia, with regional artistic additions. Cabinetmaker William Eaty relocated from Baltimore to Shepherdstown (now West Virginia), bringing with him “a rich stock of mehogany and an elegant assortment of Brass Furniture” hardware. He advertised that he sold various types of fashionable sideboards including “serpentine” ones and that he ornamented his furniture with “merquatry or shell work”. It is likely that a cabinetmaker similar to Eaty, with connections or training in Baltimore, produced this sideboard and ornamented it with their own brand of artistry. Related sideboards are in the MESDA (#3350) and Preservation Virginia collections.

This elegant sideboard descended in the family of Henry St. George Tucker (1750-1827) of Winchester and neighboring Berryville, Virginia. Born in Williamsburg, Tucker moved to Winchester after he passed the bar in 1801. Situated in the northern Valley of Virginia, Winchester was a cosmopolitan regional center. The furniture produced there in the early 19th century was quite fashionable, following many of the styles and designs of urban centers like Baltimore and Philadelphia, but with local artistic innovations. Like others produced in the same cabinet shop, this serpentine sideboard has distinctive ovals inlaid with tulips at the tops of the legs and a tri-color banding around its skirt.
ProvenanceLine of descent according to donor: Henry St. George (1750-1827) & Ann Evelina Tucker to son Alfred Bland Tucker, Sr. (1830-1862); to son Alfred Bland Tucker, Jr. (1857-1915); to son Alfred Bland Tucker III (1910-1942); to daughter Alice Lee McCaw Tucker Turner (1936-2004); to husband Claude Turner (m. 1956).