The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 26, 2024

Sideboard

Sideboard

c. 1855

attributed to Joseph Alexis Bailly

(American, 1825–1883)
Overall: 290.4 x 211.4 x 69.4 cm (114 5/16 x 83 1/4 x 27 5/16 in.)

Did You Know?

Luscious fruit, wild animals, and Native American figures are masterfully carved into this walnut sideboard. These decorative adornments were created for a distinctively American taste and would have symbolized abundance and wealth to visitors who encountered it within a grand dining room.

Description

Newly acquired wealth from railroad production, manufacturing, and an expanded economy produced a new elite class of Americans who looked abroad for sources of decoration to adorn their lives. Grand, baronial furniture, reminiscent of German hunting lodges or French castles, became popular during the mid 1800s among America’s wealthy. Elaborate displays of abundance were reflected in the carvings of flora, fauna, and freshly hunted game. The depictions of Native American hunters on this example, most likely made in Philadelphia, may have meant that this piece was displayed at one of the many international expositions that occurred during this period.
  • Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Corn Montross of Troy, Ohio. Said to have been acquired about 1900 on the east coast of the United States, probably Philadelphia or Baltimore.
    By descent to their daughter, Mrs. Leon E. Brown of Troy who sold the piece at auction in Cincinnati, c. 1984 (Peter Hill Inc., East Lempster, New Hampshire).
  • Peirce, Donald C. Art & Enterprise: American Decorative Art, 1825-1917 : The Virginia Carroll Crawford Collection. Atlanta: High Museum of Art, 1999. Mentioned & reproduced: p. 98, fig. 3 library.clevelandart.org
    Adams, Henry. What's American About American Art?: A Gallery Tour in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2008. Mentioned & reproduced: pp. 72-73 library.clevelandart.org
    Piña, Leslie A. Furniture in History, 3000 B.C.-2000 A.D. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2010. Mentioned: p. 17 library.clevelandart.org
    Franklin, David, and C. Griffith Mann. Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with, New York, NY: Scala Publishers, 2012. Mentioned & reproduced: pp. 250-251 library.clevelandart.org
    Bidwell, Frederick E., and Leslie Cade. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with New York, NY: Scala Arts Publishers, 2014. Mentioned & reproduced: pp. 140-141 library.clevelandart.org
  • The Year in Review for 1985. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 12-April 20, 1986).
    No legacy exhibitions.
  • {{cite web|title=Sideboard|url=false|author=Joseph Alexis Bailly|year=c. 1855|access-date=26 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1985.72