Description:

Rare American Classical Carved Mahogany Sideboard, c. 1830, likely Edward Priestley, Baltimore, shaped backsplash, five frieze drawers, Gothicized cabinet doors, reeded stiles surmounted by expressive "mummy" heads, conforming base, acanthine paw feet, h. 47 1/2 in., w. 78 1/2 in., d. 26 in. Provenance: The Stanley Weiss Collection, Providence, RI. Note: The monumental and exuberantly carved sideboard shown here is among a rare group of furniture attributed to Baltimore cabinetmaker Edward Priestley. Priestley’s cabinet shop was in business from 1807-1837 and supplied stylish and elegant furniture to some of Maryland’s most prominent families. Priestley’s finest pieces were made during the latter years of his career and exhibit a refined blend of Classical style and form, Gothicized embellishment, and his distinctively carved figural heads. These animated heads were inspired by design illustrations from Thomas Hope’s Household Furniture and Interior Decoration and are frequently surmounting Egyptian columns found on Priestley furniture, a popular design element of the late Neoclassical period. The present lot is nearly identical in overall form to a sideboard in the collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art, which is documented by Alexandra Kirtley in the article “A New Suspect: Baltimore Cabinetmaker Edward Priestley.” A sideboard previously owned by Dr. William H. Crim, also documented in Kirtley’s article, features the same overall form and similar hairy paw feet as the sideboard offered here. Both sideboards illustrated in Kirtley’s article display the unique “mummy” heads seen on the present lot, which distinguish Priestley’s most notable examples. Ref.: Kirtley, Alexandra Alevizatos, “A New Suspect: Baltimore Cabinetmaker Edward Priestley.” American Furniture (2000). chipstone.org/issue.php/22/ American-Furniture-2000. Accessed Dec. 27, 2018.

  • Condition: All lots are sold “As is” and “Where is”. Neal Auction provides condition reports on items with a low estimate over $500 as a courtesy to aid in your bidding decision. No statement regarding age, condition, kind, value, or quality of a lot, whether made orally at the auction or at any other time, or in writing in this catalogue or elsewhere, shall be construed to be an express or implied warranty, representation, or assumption of liability. Completed condition reports are posted as an additional image with the lot. Neal Auction does not give refunds.

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January 26, 2019 10:00 AM CST
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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $2,999 $100
$3,000 $9,999 $250
$10,000 $49,999 $500
$50,000 $999,999 $5,000
$1,000,000 $1,999,999 $10,000
$2,000,000 $2,999,999 $15,000
$3,000,000 + $20,000