Sideboard with carved capitals

Original mid-17th-century sideboard from the region of Emilia Romagna.

The sideboard, rectangular in shape, consists of two drawers bordered by three carved capitals and two squared doors.

The top has a feature worthy of attention: the frame, which gives thickness to the top, is embellished with grooves running along the three sides.

Another special feature is the color of the wood, which is particularly dark.

This color, achieved through the use of bitumen, comes from a painting technique that was customary to use especially in the region of Emilia Romagna.

Thanks to this very important detail we are able to state with certainty the provenance of the sideboard.

During the conservative restoration of the sideboard, the restorer was able to ascertain that the construction material used for the sideboard is solid walnut wood.

As we have already mentioned, the dark color rendered by the use of bitumen was kept as close to the original as possible but lightened slightly with the restorer’s intervention.