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Photo: Courtesy Sotheby's, New York
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Sideboard

Object number

RIF2066

Maker

Maker Unknown

Dimensions

38 3/4 × 66 × 27 3/4 in. (98.425 × 167.64 × 70.485 cm)

Date

1790–1810

Current location

Unknown

Geography

Made in Newport, Rhode Island
(view a map of Rhode Island)

Medium

Mahogany (primary); white pine, yellow poplar, cedar (secondary)

Inscriptions

Drawer interiors have graphite "1"s or slashes

Style

Hepplewhite, Federal

Provenance

Robert P. Gunn; given to Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence, about 1980; consigned to Sotheby's, New York, October 7, 2006, lot 213

Associated names

Robert P. Gunn
The Rhode Island Historical Society
Sotheby's

Construction

Drawer bottoms are two pieces running front to back, nailed along back with little springs along an incised line; drawer bottom extends past drawer back, acting like at stop; top of drawer sides and back are flat; narrow drawers have glue blocks abutting one another along the side edges and a running strip is applied; deeply incised kerf marks; drawer fronts are veneered on pine; center drawer support is notched at the front center drawer divider; drawer supports are nailed to the case sides; center support fastened to underside of backboard and resting on a front rabbet; sides of cabinet extend over enough to support drawers; proper right interior has secret drawer: no visible pins on exterior; Interior: top interior has three big blocks which hold top and backside together, the blocks have chamfered edges; legs front and back have inlay and stringing on front and outer sides; six screws underneath front rail hold top; proper right front leg at the top is at an angle of 83 degrees , the inner angle is 95 degrees. The brasses are not original. Examined by P. E. Kane, October 5, 2006

See also

Bibliography

Eleanor H. Gustafson, "Museum Accessions," Antiques 118, no. 3 (September 1980): 418.
Sotheby's, New York, Important Americana Including Property from the Rhode Island Historical Society, sale cat. (October 7, 2006), 150–51, lot 213.