Very Fine Carved Mahogany Federal Sideboard

IMPORTANT FEDERAL CARVED MAHOGANY SIDEBOARD
New York 1810-1820

The splash back with a broken arch pediment with flanking carved pineapple finials above an oblong mahogany top with canted front corners and brass gallery sides above a conforming case with two short and one small central drawer supported by pairs of columns at the canted corners with carved Ionic capitals, resting on a concave-shaped shelf with brass beading, raised on pairs of canted carved paw feet corresponding to the columns above. Secondary Woods: white pine and tulip poplar.

Nancy McClelland’s Duncan Phyfe and the English Regency 1795-1830 (New York, 1939) pages 172 and 173 show sideboards thought to be by Phyfe that exhibit related back splash (on page 172) and almost identical carved feet, Ionic capitals with paneled reserves above them and brass gallery (on page 173). A high-post bed c.1815, descending in the family of Phyfe's daughter, Eliza Phyfe Vail, has related waterleaf carving above the carved feet.

The outstanding quality of design, materials and carving in this example indicate the hand of a master such as Duncan Phyfe or Michael Allison.