Baltimore, Maryland, 1815-1830
Mahogany with tulip poplar and white pine
Catalog no. 159
This massive sideboard is typical of Baltimore furniture in the late classical style. It is ornamented “in the rich Egyptian and Gothic style.” Gothic ornamentation appears in the form of pointed arches and quatrefoils, while the ogee central arch is of Moorish origin. The caryatids on the facade were called “tapered therms with mummy heads and feet” in local documents, although the bearded and turbaned heads are more Turkish than Egyptian. The shafts that support the heads and the carved human feet have direct parallels in early Egyptian design, however. The abandon with which Gothic, Egyptian, Turkish, Moorish, and other elements were mixed and matched on this sideboard and on many other Baltimore pieces indicates that purity of design and archaeological correctness were not of paramount importance to some consumers.