Images(2)

Sideboard

Date1790-1820

OriginAmerica, Kentucky, Meade County or Louisville area

MediumCherry, tulip poplar, white pine, lightwood inlay, brass

DimensionsOH: 40”; OW: 71”; OD: 19 ¼”

Credit LineGift of Mack and Sharon Cox

Object number2025-37

DescriptionSideboard with rounded ends and serpentine front on four square tapered and inlaid legs; façade composed of rounded cabinet doors on ends veneered with figured mahogany ovals outlined with lightwood stringing flanking center section of two shaped drawers flanking smaller serpentine fronted central drawer over central deep serpentine fronted drawer flanked by tambour doors under larger drawers; veneered drawer fronts inlaid with lightwood rectangle with in-cut corners; large drawers with stamped oval brass drawer pulls; serpentine central drawers and cabinet doors have inlaid lightwood shield-shaped escutcheons; all drawers and doors outlined in lightwood string inlay; edges of top and drawer blades have cross banded veneer; top edge inlaid with lightwood string edges; legs have veneered panel with arched top outlined in lightwood stringing on upper portion and legs below skirt have trapezoidal veneered panel outlined in lightwood stringing with banding at lower edge for cuff; tapered legs square in cross section; same banding found on skirt of sideboard and across legs at level with skirt; each cabinet has a single shelf.
Label TextA handful of serpentine front sideboards of this type are known with Kentucky provenances, probably made in two distinct shops. Porter Clay, who was raised in Kentucky from a young age and trained in the Lexington shop of Thomas Whitney, spent a year (1798-1799) working in a New York City cabinetshop and brought New York fashion, designs, and construction back to Kentucky with him. Some of the sideboards in this group are attributed to his shop; others including this example are attributed to a second unidentified shop. Serpentine fronted sideboards, while popular in urban centers in the early years of the 19th century, were a new form, especially in Kentucky. With the shaping, the tambour, and the magnificent, figured cherry veneers, these Kentucky sideboards rivaled East coast examples in style and fashion, elevating the elite Bluegrass homes in which they were owned.
Provenance: Likely collected in central Kentucky between 1935 and 1959 by either Mrs. Willie Mae Axton Bishop (1884-1959), who lived in Winchester, Clark County, Kentucky, or her sister, Miss Mary Vaughan Axton (1887-1947), who lived in Louisville, Kentucky; Mrs. Willie Mae Axton Bishop until 1959; 1959 to daughter Serelda Lois Bishop Odear (1913-1996) of Lexington, KY; 1996 to son Robert Odear Jr. (b.1937), of Nashville, Tennessee; c.2005-2006 sold to Robert Crawford, Richmond, Virginia dealer; 2007 sold to private collector; sold at Brunk Auctions, December 5, 2024, lot #1085 to Mack & Sharon Cox.