Donation Extends Exhibit

At MacCulloch Hall

 

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DONATION EXTENDS EXHIBIT AT MACCULLOCH HALL w/1 cut

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MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Macculloch Hall Historical Museum has extended its exhibit “ABCs of Furniture” until August 23, 2009, with the recent donation of an Eighteenth Century furniture masterpiece.

Mathew Egerton Sr of New Brunswick, N.J., crafted a masterpiece sideboard in the late Eighteenth Century at his shop on Burnet Street. Creating furniture for New Jersey’s most important patrons before, during, and after the Revolution, Egerton’s surviving pieces are rare and highly sought by museums and private collectors. This exceptional piece was donated to Macculloch Hall by Philip Keeler, formerly of Westfield, N.J.

Wearing white gloves, David Breslauer, executive director of Macculloch, ran his hand over the sideboard top and said, “Imagine a 2-inch-thick slab of mahogany traveling from the Caribbean to New Jersey more than 200 years ago and still surviving without a crack in its grain.”

The sideboard, made of mahogany and secondary woods, is banded with inlaid woods from top to bottom, and retains its original brasses. “The wood and brass, the grain and style don’t ‘pop’ — they all sing together,” observed Breslauer. The Egerton sideboard joins an earlier gift of more than 1,000 pieces of Chinese Canton porcelain made by Keeler in the 1990s.

Featuring 300 years of furniture styles from England, Ireland and the United States, “ABCs of Furniture” showcases the styles of Queen Anne, Georgian, Chippendale, Hepplewhite, Sheraton and Phyfe. Each piece is from Macculloch Hall’s extensive museum collection and has been authenticated by decorative arts experts.

Macculloch Hall is at 45 Macculloch Avenue. For information, 973-538-2404 or www.maccullochhall.org.