The provenance of this graceful easy chair suggests a Philadelphia origin; however, its configuration and the presence of sweetgum and cherry as secondary woods introduce the alternative attribution to New York. In place of the characteristic slipper, trifid, or ball-and-claw feet, a pad foot was substituted, and the conventional stump rear legs were replaced by cabriole supports, conveying a more balanced and stationary appearance. The arm terminating in a cone shape replaces the earlier C-scroll, producing a version that corresponds to the prevailing London fashion. 

Technical notes: Black walnut; black walnut (seat rails, stiles), sweetgum (arm support), cherry (arms), soft maple (top of wings, crest rail). The antique cover is not original; it prevented examination of the frame.

Related examples: Miller 1937a, vol. 1, pp. 239–40, no. 392; Downs 1952, nos. 77, 78; Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, sale 3947, January 26–29, 1977, lot 1161; Cooper 1980, pp. 66, 74–75; Bishop 1972, p. 126, no. 140; Rodriguez Roque 1984, pp. 198–99, no. 91; Christie’s, New York, sale 8208, June 21, 1995, lot 217. Vertically rolled arms are unusual on a Philadelphia easy chair; a published example is Winchester 1963, p. 172.

Book excerpt: Warren, David B., 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.