Lot Details
Lot 250
Federal Inlaid Mahogany, Curly Maple and Rosewood Sideboard
Attributed to Thomas Seymour or a Contemporary, Boston, early 19th century
The rectangular top above three cockbeaded frieze drawers, over a pair of central cupboard doors flanked by two cockbeaded deep drawers, raised on square tapering legs. Height 41 inches, width 63 inches, depth 21 inches.
Provenance:
Carbone Antiques, Boston, 1958
Literature: Stoneman, Vernon C., A Supplement to John and Thomas Seymour: Cabinetmekers in Boston: 1794-1816 (Boston: Special Publications, 1965), p. 45, no. 30.
English trained John Seymour and his son Thomas produced high quality veneered and inlaid furniture in Federal era Boston. By 1804, John's son Thomas took over the workshop and combined strong English elements with his own technique, as seen in the alternating light and dark veneers in the faux tambour doors of the present lot. The Seymours owned a copy of Sheraton's London Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book (1791-93), which further influenced their style.
The Seymours employed inlay and veneers to break up plain flat surfaces. In this sideboard we see rosewood herringbone veneer standing in for typical pilasters. Thomas favored the use of curly maple, as opposed to using expensive exotic imports such as satinwood, which can be seen in the central frieze drawer of the offered lot. Like other cabinetmakers who operated a large workshop, Thomas Seymour purchased inlay motifs and stringing from outside specialists. A narrow band of rosewood flanked by stringing ornaments the front and sides of the top and stringing on the front of the front legs are found on this lot.
Thomas also employed English craftsmen for turning, carving and inlay. Variation in the work of John and Thomas Seymour can be attributed to the duo experimenting with a range of oppulent to more plain pieces to cater to tastes and pocketbooks. Furthermore, the journeymen employed by the Seymours could take their designs elsewhere, as copies were found in Boston, Salem, Portsmouth and Maine. While there are some extant pieces bearing labels, the other pieces rely on scrutiny of form and decoration to make an attribution.
C
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