Sideboard
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.

Side Chair
Left
Baltimore, Maryland, ca. 1820
Tulip poplar and maple
Catalog no. 50

Side Chair
Right
Baltimore or Frederick, Maryland, ca. 1825
Maple

“Fancy” furniture, so called because of its imaginative painted decoration, was produced in coastal cities from New England to South Carolina, but Baltimore was the undisputed capital of the painted-furniture industry. The most elaborate Baltimore fancy chairs featured ornamentation akin to that on the blue example to the left. It has gilded and stenciled classical figures and foliage enhanced by freehand application of paints, washes, and tinted varnishes meant to simulate the costly gilt bronze mounts then being used on European furniture. Less expensive chairs like that on the right omitted the freehand decoration, relying instead on unembellished mono- or polychromatic stenciled decoration.

The blue ground color on the chair on the left is unusual. Baltimore chair makers advertised that they painted furniture in “all colors,” although grounds of red and yellow, and, slightly later, black or rosewood graining are far more common. The varnished blue on this chair may represent a specific order by the original owner.

Knife Cases
Baltimore, Maryland, 1815-1830
Mahogany and lacewood with white pine and tulip poplar

The massive, fully articulated knife cases displayed here are fitted with internal tiers of slotted support boards designed to store silver knives, forks, spoons, and serving pieces safely. The storage compartments are revealed by raising the top of each case on a central post provided with a wooden spring lock that keeps the cover up while the flatware is removed or replaced. Sized to compliment the large-scale sideboards of the day, these cases are ornamented with the heavy reeds that were widely popular in Baltimore.