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Rainey Knudson

10. American Sideboard, c. 1855

American Sideboard, c. 1855. American tulipwood, northeast white pine, black walnut, and marble, 106 × 69 × 28 inches

This bonkers American sideboard was made around 1855. Pustulating with fruits, vegetables, and lots of dead critters (and of course a gun, front and center), what we have here is brown furniture on steroids. It’s manifest destiny wallowing gloriously in the bounty of the American continent: the upper portion of the piece is dominated by a large dead stag hanging by a hind leg, and there's a particularly fabulous seafood panel on the lower left. The pig-in-shit, “lookee-what-we-found-in-the-New-World!” exuberance notwithstanding, the craftsmanship on this thing is unbelievable, including the eagle on top that’s spreading its wings for world domination. Ka-KAW!

 

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