Chairs - CONSTRUCTION

Chairs - STYLES

Tops

	All links are to Buffalo, NY, pages unless otherwise indicated.
Tops	Bolster-top
Tops	Cresting The carved decoration on the top rail of a chair, sofa, or daybed Illustration: Colonial and Federal Chairs at the Fairmount Park Woodford House, Philadelphia
Tops	Cupid's bow A Chippendale style top rail of a chair back shaped like a bow, with compound curves, and often with spiral volutes on the ends. The cupid's bow with arrows also appeared as a decorative motif in the Louis XV and Louis XVI periods. Illustration: Private collection, Buffalo, NY Queen Anne Side chair - Winterthur Museum
Tops	Ears Up-curved ends of top rail Usually on Chippendale chairs Illustration: Queen Anne side chair - Independence Hall, Philadelphia
	Top Rail See Rails below

Backs

	All links are to Buffalo, NY, pages unless otherwise indicated.
Backs	Balloon-Back Form of chair back shaped like a hot-air balloon, rounded at the top, tapering toward seat. Sometimes referred to a "peanut-shaped" Illustration: Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site
Backs	Bannister-back chair
Backs	Cane Illustration: Hofmobiliendepot Imperial Furniture Collection, Vienna, Austria
	Fiddle-shaped splat
Backs	Peanut-shape upholstered Illustration: Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site
Backs	Prince of Wales feathers A chair-back ornament of the Hepplewhite period. It was a carved representation of the three ostrich plumes which were the badge of the Prince of Wales. Illustration: 1920s Hepplewhite-style shield-back armchair - Edward Harvey House. 91 Jewett Parkway Neoclassical pier glass - Georgian House Museum, Edinburgh, Scotland
Backs	Rail The horizontal strip of a frame or a panel. The horizontal tie bar in the framing of a piece of furniture, such as the top of a chair back, or a stretcher rail In the 16th and 17th centuries , this element was usually elaborately shaped and carved. See also: cresting Yoke back: A crossbar with two S-shaped curves used as the top rail of chair backs in the Georgian period. The silhouette is that of an ox-yoke. Illustration: Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site 3 rails - Livingston- Backus House at the Genesee Country Village, & Museum Top rail - Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Top, seat rails - Horace Reed House Top, seat rails - C. 1730 English Side Chair Seat rail - Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Top, seat rails -Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Yoke-shaped top rail - C. 1730 English Side Chair Yoke-shaped top rail - Independence Hall, Philadelphia Yoke-shaped top rail, Queen Anne side chair - Independence Hall, Philadelphia Yoke-shaped top rail, Queen Anne side chair - Fairmount Park Woodford House, Philadelphia Curved top rail, Windsor chair - Independence Hall, Philadelphia Cut-out seat rail - Independence Hall, Philadelphia
Backs	Ribbon-back chair Four pierced ribbon rails Chippendale style; mahogany Illustration: Fairmount Park Woodford House, Philadelphia
Backs	Shield back Resembles a shield-shaped frame with a tapered point at the center bottom. The shape of a chair back popularized by Hepplewhite in the mid-18th century in England. The frame would sometimes have a carved splat representing the feathers of the Prince of Wales , or a sheaf of wheat. Illustration: Colonial and Federal Chairs at the Fairmount Park Woodford House, Philadelphia 1920s Hepplewhite-style shield-back armchair - Edward Harvey House. 91 Jewett Parkway Reproduction Hepplewhite side chair - Kittinger Furniture Co.
Backs	Shoe / Shoe piece The part of the back seat rail of a chair that projects out to support the bottom of the splat Illustration: Queen Anne side chair - Fairmount Park Woodford House, Philadelphia Queen Anne side chair - Independence Hall, Philadelphia Philadelphia Chippendale side chair - Winterthur Museum New York Chippendale side chair - Winterthur Museum
Backs	Slat Flat narrow band of wood, often set in a horizontal series across the back of 17th-century chairs and later country versions. Sometimes used to support seat cushions or mattresses in other styles Illustration: William and Mary slat-back armchair - Independence Hall, Philadelphia Chippendale mahogany ladder-back side chair - Fairmount Park Woodford House, Philadelphia Tiger maple slats, Country Sheraton cane chair - Boies-Lord House (Hamburg)
Backs	Splat The central. upright wood panel of a chair back, serving as a back rest. May be carved, vase- or fiddle-shaped, embellished with carving and marquetry (inlays in veneer) , or decorated with fretwork, piercedtracery. designs, or Usually vase-shaped on in Queen Anne and Chippendale chairs; also pierced on the latter. See Vase-shaped splat below Illustration: Vase-shaped splat - Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Pierced splat - Horace Reed House Three splats: Reproduction Hepplewhite side chair - Kittinger Furniture Co. Pierced splat - Independence Hall, Philadelphia Pierced splat - Fairmount Park Woodford House, Philadelphia Paneled splat - Ming Dynasty Table - Shanghai Museum
Backs	Stile The outer uprights of of some panelback chairs Also, the vertical strips of the frame of a panel of case piece of furniture. Often called a post if turned Illustration: Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Flared (chair) - Horace Reed House Curved (chair) - C. 1730 English Side Chair Curved (chair) - Colonial and Federal Chairs at the Fairmount Park Woodford House, Philadelphia Cylindrical (chair) - Independence Hall, Philadelphia Federal corner cupboard, pilaster - Private collection, Buffalo, NY Corner washstand - Private collection, Buffalo, NY
Backs	Vase-shaped splat An urn-shaped splat which appears in the center of a chair back, under the top rail and between the uprights. Also called vasiform (pronounced VAY zi form; VAS if form) Similr to the fiddleback Illustration: Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Queen Anne side chair. - Private collection, Buffalo, NY Queen Anne side chair - Independence Hall, Philadelphia Empire / Rococo Revival side chair - Boies-Lord House (Hamburg)

Arms / Seats

Historical note: "[ In Egypt] Seats were made out of either rush or wood. Wooden seats were ergonomically shaped to follow the contour of the body. creating a double cove. Since upholstered furniture was not in use at this time, a loose cushion was placed on top of these dipped seats for greater comfort." - Treena Crochet, Designer's Guide to Furniture Styles," pub. 2204, p.12

	Apron / Skirt
Arms / Seats	Cane Illustration: Imperial Furniture Collection, Vienna, Austria
	Drop Wooden decorative element , often urn- or bell-shaped , hanging from the skirt of a table or seat rail of a chair
Arms / Seats	Gooseneck arm support Illustration: Inventory - Kittinger Furniture Company
Arms / Seats	Handholds Illustration: Corner chair - Fairmount Park Woodford House, Philadelphia Corner chair rounded handholds - Lang Collection Flattened scrolled - Independence Hall, Philadelphia Volute handhold, Queen Anne Side chair - Winterthur Museum
Arms / Seats	Horseshoe-shaped seat Illustration: Fancy armchair
Arms / Seats	Knuckle handholds Illustration:  Silverthorne House
Arms / Seats	Rail The horizontal strip of a frame or a panel. The horizontal tie bar in the framing of a piece of furniture, such as the top of a chair back, or a stretcher rail In the 16th and 17th centuries , this element was usually elaborately shaped and carved. Yoke back: A crossbar with two S-shaped curves used as the top rail of chair backs in the Georgian period. The silhouette is that of an ox-yoke. Illustration: Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Corner chair top rail - Lang Collection 3 rails - Livingston- Backus House at the Genesee Country Village, & Museum Top, seat rails - Horace Reed House Top, seat rails - C. 1730 English Side Chair Seat rail - Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Top, seat rails -Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Cut-out seat rail - Independence Hall, Philadelphia
Arms / Seats	Rush seat Illustration: Corner chair - Fairmount Park Woodford House, Philadelphia
Arms / Seats	Saddle seat A scooped-out seat which resembles the contour of a saddle. The seat is convex from the sides and back to a raised central ridge. Often found in Windsor chairs with thick pine seats. Illustration: Old Editions Book Shop and Café Comb-back Windsor - Lang Collection
Arms / Seats	Shield-shaped seat with peaked front Windsor chair - Independence Hall, Philadelphia
Arms / Seats	Slip seat Removable upholstered seat, slipped or inserted into an open chair frame Found on Queen Anne, Chippendale, and Colonial Revival examples Illustration: Side chair, Horace Reed House Shield-back armchair - Edward Harvey House. 91 Jewett Parkway

Legs
See also: Furniture - Legs

Legs	Animal legs
	Bandy-legged A Colonial American term for bowlegged or cabriole-legged furniture of the England and America in the early 18th century.
Legs	Cabriole (KAB ree ole) leg Illustration: Fairmount Park Woodford House, Philadelphia
Legs	Flemish "S' scroll leg Illustration: William and Mary caned-back chair - George Wythe House, Williamsburg, Va.
Legs	Knee Illustration: Dewitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum
Legs	Marlborough leg A straight, sometimes fluted leg with a block as a foot that was used in the mid-18th-century English and American furniture. Illustration: Reproduction Chippendale English tea table - Kittinger Furniture Company
Legs	Saber legs Chair legs tapered to resemble a cavalry saber.
Legs	Turned legs Illustration: Fairmount Park Woodford House, Philadelphia

Stretchers

Stretchers	Stretcher
Stretchers	Box stretcher
	Cross stretcher
Stretchers	H stretcher
	X stretcher

Feet

	Arrow foot
Feet	Ball foot
Feet	Block foot
Feet	Bun foot
Feet	Claw-and-ball foot
Feet	Club foot
	Drake foot See Trifid below
Feet	Lion's paw foot
Feet	Marlborough foot Illustration: Reproduction Chippendale English tea table - Kittinger Furniture Company
Feet	Pad foot
Feet	Paw foot
Feet	Spade foot
Feet	Spanish foot
Feet	Trifid (TRY fid) foot Alternative name: drake foot Armchair - Winterthur Museum
Feet	Whorl foot