COLONIAL PERIOD: Sideboard Table
History
The sideboard table was created around 1815 most likely in the workshop of Lawrence Butler. It is considered one of the finest pieces of Colonial furniture in Australia. It presents an iconic transformation from the English Sheraton style into early Australian Colonial style. This sideboard table is on display at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.
Designed by
The design and creation of this sideboard table is attributed to the workshop of Lawrence Butler, a a cabinet-maker, upholsterer, and an undertaker. Butler was an Irishman and a former convict, who lived in Australia.
Dimensions
Height 760 mm, Width 1750 mm, Depth 678 mm
Materials
Scrub beefwood, cedar, pine, eucalypt, metal
Elements and Principles
Form is the Element and Symmetrical Balance is the Principle of this design. Rectangular forms of the sideboard, in its tabletop, its drawers, its legs – are all arranged in symmetrical balance, giving the sideboard the feel of formal elegance of the old world.
Manufactured by
The workshop of Lawrence Butler. Currently at the Powerhouse Museum
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=89063#ixzz2w5mi8WJ4
Used by Designers
It was a typical piece of Colonial furniture, used in wealthy homes and boutique hotels.
Replicas
Many similar sideboard tables were created at those times. Below is an example.
Contemporary interpretations and influences
Similar Colonial style sideboard tables continue to be manufactured nowadays, mainly to furnish Colonial-style interiors.
http://www.houzz.com/photos/101543/Colonial-Console-traditional-buffets-and-sideboards
Resources
http://butlerfamilyhistoryaustralia.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/laurence-butler-ch-17-cabinetmaking.html
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=89063#ixzz2w5mi8WJ4
http://www.lib.mq.edu.au/digital/lema/chair/temple.html
http://www.carters.com.au/index.cfm/index/3546-sideboards-regency/
http://www.houzz.com/photos/101543/Colonial-Console-traditional-buffets-and-sideboards
