Characterized by heavy elements and rich but plain veneered surfaces, this sideboard by an unknown maker exhibits the massive simplicity of furniture that supplanted lighter Federal designs during the 1830s and 1840s. At the time, such furniture was often called “Grecian” or “plain style,” but now it is referred to as “Empire.” The houses in which such pieces originally stood are called “Greek Revival” today. The Cabinet Maker’s Assistant, written by English immigrant John Hall and published in Baltimore in 1840, clearly encouraged this movement toward plain shapes and heavy outlines.