Attributed to William Buckland and William Bernard Sears
Richmond County, Virginia, 1761-1771
Cherry with marble top
Catalog no. 79
William Buckland, an English-trained builder, and William Bernard Sears, an English carver in his employ, were responsible for some of the colonial Chesapeake's most aspiring buildings and furniture. This cherry sideboard table was made for the Tayloe family of Mount Airy plantation in Richmond County, Virginia. With its fully carved console legs, gadrooned rails, and marble top, this remarkably well-preserved object illustrates both Buckland's considerable artistic vision and the skill of his employees. Although the table is neither signed nor labeled, the carving is clearly by the same hand that produced the woodwork at Mount Airy and at Gunston Hall plantation in northern Virginia. Documents prove that Buckland and Sears executed both projects.