A Federal satinwood inlaid and figured mahogany serpentine-front sideboard, probably Baltimore, Maryland circa 1800

With numerous losses and repairs to veneer.

John S. Walton, Inc., New York

Secondary wood is poplar
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Featured in the 1788 issue of the Cabinet-Maker's London Book of Prices and George Hepplewhite's Guide of the same year, the sideboard soon replaced the pier table as the object for serving food in fashionable American dining rooms.

This stylish example displays an undulating façade highlighted by extravagant ornamentation comprised of highly figured veneers and contrasting light-and-dark woods in a variety of geometric forms. Its graceful six-legged form, which is serpentine in shape with varying positions of drawers, doors, legs, inlays, and cross-bandings, recalls the form as it was interpreted in New York although it lacks an overhanging top drawer. A sideboard with similar shaping of the case and inlaid decoration is in the collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art and illustrated in William Voss Elder and Jayne Stokes, American Furniture 1680-1880, Baltimore, no. 115, p. 151. That sideboard has been attributed to William Whitehead of New York because of close similarities with a labeled Whitehead sideboard in the High Museum in Atlanta. Another related New York sideboard is in the collection of Winterthur Museum and pictured in Charles Montgomery, American Furniture: The Federal Period, 1788-1825, New York, 1966, no. 360, p. 373.

The inlaid decoration of this sideboard, though restrained in amount, is similar to that found on Federal furniture made in Baltimore. Related flowerhead and icicle inlays appear on two card tables included in the exhibition Baltimore Furniture: The Work of Baltimore and Annapolis Cabinetmakers from 1760 to 1810 held at the Baltimore Museum of Art in 1947 and illustrated in the accompanying catalogue as nos. 2 and 6 on pp. 26 and 32, respectively. The former was a wedding present to George Coulston and his wife when they moved into their house at the corner of Pratt and Albemarle Streets in Baltmore in 1796.