The term sofa, as well as the form itself, is of Arabic origin, introduced to England and America early in the eighteenth century. One contemporary source described it as “A sort of Alcove much used in Asia, it is An apartment of State, raised about two Foot higher than the Floor, and furnished with rich Carpets and Cushions, where honorable Personages are entertained.” The Bayou Bend sofa is a diminutive version of the standard serpentine-back form. Its seat and arms are unusually high and the curve to the back less pronounced than seen in most fully developed examples. The shaped terminals on its rear legs, a feature common in English furniture, is often associated with New York seating furniture; however, the raked back claws and secondary woods proffer a Massachusetts origin.

Technical notes: Mahogany; mahogany (corner braces), white oak (front seat rail), red oak (side and rear seat rails), spruce (left side back rail, medial back brace, and crest rail). The center rear leg is a replacement.

Related examples: Antiques 74 (July 1958), p. 4.

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.