Sideboard

A number of new types of furniture emerged in the last half of the 18th century to accommodate a more elaborate style of life.  The sideboard was developed in England in the 1770s to facilitate the serving of meals in the newly created specialized dining room and by 1800 had become standard equipment in fashionable American homes.  Food was placed on its top, from which diners would be served or serve themselves.

The frontal surface of the finest American examples were composed of alternating concave and convex units and were inlaid with contrasting geometric shapes: circles, ovals, and rectangles.  Tapering legs were carefully shaped to maintain the trim lines of the piece while providing adequate support.

In Fine Points of Furniture (1950), Albert Sack observed of this piece that "To some collectors, the dignity, grace and simplicity of a sideboard such as this represent the acme of design."