ZINC-LINED DRY SINK

The work of a rural cabinetmaker — vertical plank construction throughout, two iron-latched cabinet doors, a raised backsplash, and a zinc-lined basin that has oxidized to a deep pewter over more than a century. What makes it exceptional is the surface: layers of grey-blue farmhouse paint over a terracotta red beneath, worn almost entirely to raw wood by time and use. The sequence of color is irreproducible. Dry sinks of this quality rarely survived intact — most were discarded when indoor plumbing arrived, and fewer still were left unrestored. In a contemporary interior it functions as a sideboard, an entry console, a bar cabinet, or simply a visual reference to a past time. 

EUROPE, 19C
20½" x 51" x 31½"