Detail View: The AMICA Library: Sideboard

AMICA ID: 
CMA_.1985.72
AMICA Library Year: 
2002
Object Type: 
Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
Creator Name: 
Bailly, Joseph Alexis
Creator Nationality: 
North American; American
Creator Role: 
artist
Creator Dates/Places: 
1825 - 1883
Gender: 
M
Creator Name-CRT: 
Joseph Alexis Bailly
Title: 
Sideboard
Title Type: 
Primary
View: 
Full View
Creation Date: 
c. 1855
Creation Start Date: 
1850
Creation End Date: 
1860
Materials and Techniques: 
walnut
Classification Term: 
Furniture and woodwork
Dimensions: 
Overall: 290.4cm x 211.4cm x 69.4cm
AMICA Contributor: 
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Owner Location: 
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
ID Number: 
1985.72
Credit Line: 
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Rights: 
Provenance: 
Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Corn Montross of Troy, Ohio (said to have been acquired about 1900 on east coast of U.S., probably in Philadelphia or Baltimore); inherited by 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).
Context: 

Beginning with London's Crystal Palace exhibition of 1851, great international shows of art and industrial products played a large role in European and American cultural life during the latter half of the 19th century. Fierce competition among nations prevailed. In the realm of furniture making, complexly designed and finely crafted sideboards became vehicles for the expression of national pride. The symbolically potent carved figures of Native Americans decorating this piece suggest that it may have been created as an example of American prowess for one of these fairs.

Related Image Identifier Link: 
CMA_.AM20020796.tif