This elaborately decorated sideboard illustrates the vitality of Providence, Rhode Island craftsmanship following the Revolutionary war. As declared by furniture historian J. Michael Flanigan, the piece is a “provincial masterpiece” with its array of inlaid ornament and rare addition of silver plaques. Flanigan further notes its refined craftsmanship and the unusual treatment of a central “trick” drawer that is shallower than it appears to accommodate a slide. The sideboard is further distinguished by retaining an original oilcloth on the slide, as well as wallpaper lining in the cupboard that is thought to date from the sideboard’s production (see Flanigan and Kane, cited in Literature above). An example with similar decoration, drawer configuration and also dated 1803 was almost certainly made in the same unidentified cabinetmaking shop (see RIF6889, Brunk Auctions, Asheville, N.C., The Jean and Jim Barrow Collection, May 20, 2023, lot 199).

Descending in the Rhodes and Corbin families of Providence, Rhode Island, this sideboard with its engraved initials TB and JB was previously thought to have been made for a member of ancestors in the Bucklin family. However, the earliest known owner in this family, Elizabeth (Bucklin) Pope Rhodes (1810-1866) was the granddaughter of Jacob Balcom (1763-1839) and Tryphena (Everett) Balcom (1764-1857), whose initials match those that adorn the sideboard. Living just outside of Providence in Attleboro, Massachusetts, the Balcoms almost certainly commissioned this remarkable form. It appears to have descended to their eldest daughter, Nancy (1786-1878), who married Sylvester F. Bucklin (1784-1860), thence to their daughter Elizabeth, wife of James Thomas Rhodes (1800-1873) whose daughter, Bessie (1850-1936) married Richard Washington Corbin (1838-1922). After the sideboard passed out of the family by 1982, it was acquired by Linda and George Kaufman, reflecting the high standard of their renowned collection, and subsequently purchased in 2002 by the current owners.