In the late 18th century, as dining customs in America became increasingly formal and rooms began to assume more specific purposes, a wide variety of furniture forms developed to meet the household’s serving, dining, and storage needs. During this period, sideboards became a common feature of American dining rooms. Containing a variety of drawers and cupboards, they held everything from tablecloths and linens to plates, glassware, and silver. Placed against a wall, sometimes in a recessed niche or between windows, they were typically quite large. This handsome sideboard, made in the curved bowfront style that was popular during the late 18th-century Neoclassical period, is unusually small. Its two long drawers, faced in a rich burl veneer, are lockable—a testament to the valuable nature of the contents. The rounded “ovolo” corners on the top, the ring turning on the colonnettes, and the delicate swell to the four reeded legs suggest New Hampshire origins.
