Figure 545 shows another chair of the same design in which the design is worked out in its purity. Of course such a chair as this was the model from which the other simpler ones were made. On the cresting are carved acanthus leaves, and there is an acanthus-leaf carving on the edges of the scrolls in the splat.

Figure 545. Chair in Chippendale style, third quarter eighteenth century.

Figure 546. Chair in Chippendale style, third quarter eighteenth century.

The arms are in the shape used in the Dutch period and on the knobs and supports is leaf carving. The legs are cabriole, terminating in Dutch feet, and the entire front of each leg is carved in acanthus-leaf and rococo designs. A chair with carving on the legs usually stands on bird's claw and ball feet or French scroll feet. This chair is the property of Miss Augusta Manning, of Hartford.

Figure 546 shows still another chair with the same design of splat but of considerably later date. The only carving is at the top of the cresting and at the centre. The legs are straight and underbraced in the manner of the late pieces. This chair was new in 1791 and was part of a wedding outfit at Wethersfield, Connecticut, and was the property of the late Miss Esther Bidwell. Of course, at the large centres this style had long since disappeared, but this chair was probably made by a local cabinet-maker who still clung to the old style.

Figure 547 shows a chair in the possession of Mr. Richard A. Canfield, the splat of which strongly suggests the style now under discussion, but the plain scrolls have been broken into irregular curves. The cresting is well carved in acanthus-leaf and scroll designs which extend partly down the stile. The stiles for the balance of the distance are fluted and reeded. The edges and surface of the splat are carved in scrolls and acanthus-leaf designs. The rail of the seat is carved in a fret design. The legs are straight and are fluted and reeded and the underbracing has chamfered edges.

Chair in Chippendale style, about 1760.

Chair in Chippendale style, third quarter eighteenth century.

Another of the earlier designs is shown in Figure 548. The splat consists of a concave curve and a long cyma curve, and a scroll extends back into the top, but it is not a continuous curve as in the preceding designs. At the centre is carved a ribbon and tassel. The carving is of the highest order. The cresting is carved in an acanthus-leaf scroll, as are also the edges, and at each end is carved a shell. The edges of the splat are also carved with acanthus-leaf scrolls. The stiles are fluted, and at the centre of the seat rail is carved a shell with streamers and at the corners a carved shell extends on each knee. The edge of the skirt is carved in the rope design. The legs are cabriole, terminating in bird's claw and ball feet, and on the knees are acanthus-leaf scrolls. This chair represents one of the best types found in this country. There are several known which differ only sufficiently to show that they were not of a set, but probably made by the same cabinetmaker. This chair is the property of the writer.

Figure 549 shows a chair in the Blancy Collection in which the splat is in the identical outline of that shown in the preceding figure, except that there are no ribbon and tassel at the centre. The splat, however, is simply cut out and not enriched with carving. This and the preceding chair illustrate how a fully worked out model would be copied by local cabinet-makers, in which the outline will be faithfully given but all detail omitted. At the centre of the cresting is carved a shell. The arms are scrolled and the supports for the arms are hollowed. The piece stands on cabriole legs, terminating in bird's claw and ball feet, and on the knees are carved shells.

Chair in Chippendale style, third quarter eighteenth century.

Figure 550. Chair in Chippendale style, 1770-80.

Figure 550 shows a chair with a still different form of splat. The outline of the splat is fiddle-shaped, composed of a concave and a long cyma curve. At the top is carved drapery, three tassels, and below the wood is so cut as to form intertwining ribbons. The legs are cabriole, terminating in bird's claw and ball feet, and the knees are beautifully carved in a leaf design. The stiles are fluted and reeded. The cresting is carved in a leaf design. This design is quite often found in England and in this country, especially in Philadelphia and the South, and although it does not appear in any of the published designs it is one of the best of the period. The seat rail, however, is its only fault. The straight plain surface is out of keeping with the flowing lines of the drapery. It is the property of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.