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Sideboard
Attributed to: Thomas Seymour (American (born in England), 1771–1848)
and Possibly: James Cogswell (American, 1780–1862)
Carving attributed to: Thomas Wightman (American, 1759 – 1827)
and Possibly: James Cogswell (American, 1780–1862)
Carving attributed to: Thomas Wightman (American, 1759 – 1827)
1806–10
Object Place: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Medium/Technique
Mahogany, rosewood, kingwood, burl-ash, curly-satinwood, purpleheart, ebony, eastern white pine, hard and soft maple, poplar, cherry, brass, and ivory
Dimensions
108.6 x 165.7 x 85.1 cm (42 3/4 x 65 1/4 x 33 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
The M. and M. Karolik Collection of Eighteenth-Century American Arts
Accession Number41.583
CollectionsAmericas
ClassificationsFurniture – Case furniture and boxes
The inventory of Oak Hill listed a "mah'g [mahogany] sideboard" in the dining room, valued at the princely sum of $150, the highest value for furniture in the appraisal. A new furniture form in fashionable American houses, the sideboard contained storage compartments for table linen, silver, china, wine glasses, wine bottles, and the occasional chamber pot. Most significantly, the sideboard functioned as a place for serving food and drink during a meal. This was a departure from the eighteenth-century custom of placing platters of food directly on the table.
Catalogue Raisonné
Eighteenth-Century American Arts No. 46
Inscriptions"which belonged to my gerat-grandfather Lowell--wedding 1894."
ProvenanceBy tradition, descended consecutively through the Lowell, Lyman, Cabot, and Lyman families; purchased in 1940 from Mr. Ronald T. Lyman, Waltham, Massachusetts; incorporated as part of "The M. and M. Karolik Collection of Eighteenth-Century American Arts."
From R. Mussey catalogue: The first owner was possibly in the Derby family (possibly Elizabeth Derby West).
From R. Mussey catalogue: The first owner was possibly in the Derby family (possibly Elizabeth Derby West).